Redahan, Hickey Earn Major Awards; Five Blue Devils Named All-NEC in Baseball
The Central Connecticut baseball team collected a pair of major awards and had five members earn All-Northeast Conference recognition it was announced by the league office on Wednesday on the eve of the conference championship. Aidan Redahan became the fourth Blue Devil to be named Player of the Year, while head coach Charlie Hickey was named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
Redahan was joined on the All-NEC First Team by Chris Brown, Wyatt Cameron and Vincent Borghese. Antonio Ducatelli was named to the All-NEC Second Team.
Redahan became the program's first NEC Player of the Year since Sean Allaire in 2010 after having one of the strongest offensive seasons in the country. Redahan closed the regular season by leading the country in batting average (.462) and hits per game (1.88), while ranking among the top 10 in RBIs per game (2nd, 1.57) and toughest to strikeout (9th, 15.5). The infielder additionally led the Northeast Conference in slugging percentage (.737), on-base percentage (.522), runs scored (58), RBIs (66), and hits (79). Redahan had 27 multi-hit games during the season along with 19 multi-RBI games. He drove in five runs in three games (3/2 at Central Arkansas; 4/25 vs. Norfolk State; 5/16 at Le Moyne). In the final regular season game at Le Moyne he drove in five runs and hit two homeruns, while going 4-for-4 at the plate to raise his average in NEC play to a league-best .513.
A six-time NEC Coach of the Year, Hickey has guided the Blue Devils to 25+ wins in a season for the 19th time. In his 26th season, the winningest coach in program history, Hickey led CCSU to a 23-7 mark in NEC play, the third time it has surpassed 20 league wins in a season since 2021. The Blue Devils began conference play by rebounding from a loss to open the league slate and rolled off 19 straight league wins from March 9 to April 25. CCSU ranked third nationally with a .335 team batting average and 10th with 9.1 runs per game.
Brown started every game at third base and hit in the middle of the CCSU lineup. He ranked second on the team in batting (.342) and RBIs (42), and third in runs (51). Brown reached base in 32 straight games from Feb. 28 to May 11.
Cameron gave Central one of the best arms at the back of its bullpen in the league. In 12 appearances in conference play, he went 2-0 with four saves and a 1.29 ERA. He also recorded 28 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 21.0 innings.
In NEC play, Borghese is tied for the league lead with eight wins and ranks second in strikeouts (74) and fourth in ERA (3.23). Borghese began his inaugural campaign at Central by going 7-0 with six complete games and 56 strikeouts in 47.0 innings. He also had a 1.53 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in his first seven starts.
Ducatelli ranked third on the team with a .353 average in league play, while posting a .635 slugging percentage. He hit 14 extra-base hits including four homeruns, while driving in 33 runs and going 6-for-6 on stolen bases. Ducatelli also had walk-off hits in wins against Fairfield (March 18) and Stonehill (May 11).
NEC TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS | CCSU GAME NOTES
The Blue Devils will be making their 20th appearance in the NEC Tournament which begins on Thursday at Heritage Financial Park in Wappingers Falls, NY. The four-team championship begins on Thursday, May 22 and features a double-elimination format, playing two games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a single game on Sunday if necessary.
