Courtesy of UBBulls.com
BUFFALO, NY – For the second straight season, senior Vinny Mallaro was named to the ABCA/Rawlings Mideast All-Region second team. Mallaro was one of six Mid-American Conference players to earn a spot on one of the All-Region teams.
Mallaro concluded his Buffalo career with another impressive season at the plate as he was able to earn Second Team All-MAC honors. After an injury at the end of last season forced him into the designated hitter role for the Bulls during his senior campaign, the power-hitting righty produced his second straight 50+ RBI season. He closed out his senior season posting a .285 batting average to go along with team-highs in home runs (eight), RBI (51) and doubles (13). He started all 51 games at designated hitter and scored 33 runs while owning a .477 slugging percentage and a .389 on base percentage.
Mallaro is one of the best power hitters in Buffalo history as he was able to become the Bulls all-time RBI king this past season as he finished off his impressive four-year career with 147 career RBI. He was also able to finish his career ranked fourth in home runs (26) and 10th in doubles (38). The Syracuse, NY native also became the first player in UB history to produce back-to-back 50+ RBI seasons as he knocked in 52 runs as a junior and 51 as a senior.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. It’s over 8,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. The 74th annual ABCA Convention will be held Jan. 4-7, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
| NCAA Div. I Mideast All-Region First Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Rob Calabrese | Jr. | Illinois-Chicago | IL |
| 1B | Jake Adams | Jr. | Iowa | IA |
| 2B | Sean Kennedy | Sr. | Ball State | IN |
| 3B | Rylan Bannon | Jr. | Xavier | OH |
| SS | Mason McCoy | Sr. | Iowa | IA |
| OF | Sam Finfer | Sr. | Marshall | WV |
| OF | Tanner Allison | Jr. | Western Michigan | MI |
| OF | Daniel Jipping | Jr. | Central Michigan | MI |
| DH | Matt Lloyd | So. | Indiana | IN |
| P | Joey Murray | So. | Kent State | OH |
| P | Jake Dahlberg | Sr. | Illinois-Chicago | IL |
| P | Oliver Jaskie | Jr. | Michigan | MI |
| RP | Alex Padilla | So. | Illinois-Chicago | IL |
| NCAA Div. I Mideast All-Region Second Team | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Cl. | School | State |
| C | Daulton Varsho | Jr. | Milwaukee | WI |
| 1B | Zach Sterry | Sr. | Oakland | MI |
| 2B | Ako Thomas | So. | Michigan | MI |
| 3B | Dougie Parks | Jr. | Eastern Illinois | IL |
| SS | Michael Brdar | Sr. | Michigan | MI |
| OF | Jack Yalowitz | So. | Illinois | IL |
| OF | Joe Hoscheit | Sr. | Northwestern | IL |
| OF | Spencer Ibarra | Sr. | Ohio | OH |
| DH | Vinny Mallaro | Sr. | Buffalo | NY |
| P | Zac Lowther | Jr. | Xavier | OH |
| P | Ryan Weiss | Fr. | Wright State | OH |
| P | Alex Troop | So. | Michigan State | MI |
| RP | Jackson Lamb | Jr. | Michigan | MI |
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