University of Massachusets Athletics
Team Awards Announced At Baseball Banquet
September 23, 2009 | Baseball
Sept. 23, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass baseball head coach Mike Stone handed out team awards at the squad's annual banquet last Friday night. Four of the Minutemen's 2009 seniors were honored, along with the formal introduction of Brian Baudinet, Mike Donato and Jared Freni as team captains for the 2010 campaign.
The 2009 E. Joseph Thompson Most Valuable Player Award was presented to both Mitchell Clegg and Jim Macdonald.
An All-Region selection last spring, Macdonald hit .343 in his final season, enjoying career highs in every offensive category with 40 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 53 RBI.
An All-Atlantic 10 and All-New England first team member, Macdonald left his mark in the program's record book as his 2009 totals for hits (71), RBI, and total bases (114) rank in the top-10 all-time for a single season. He batted .391 in Atlantic 10 play to finish eighth among the conference's leaders and ranked first in hits (45) and RBI (37).
Clegg served as the No. 1 starter in the Minutemen's rotation for the bulk of 2009 and was tabbed an All-New England second team and All-Region honoree. As a senior, Clegg posted a 7-1 record with 4.15 ERA in 91.0 innings pitched with 35 walks and a team-leading 81 strikeouts, limiting opposing hitters to a .251 average.
A two-time Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week, Clegg pitched a complete game shutout on Apr. 17, a 3-0 victory over Saint Joseph's. Then on May 1, Clegg struck out a career-high 12 batters vs. St. Bonaventure. His .875 winning percentage is tied for seventh on the UMass single season top-10 list while his 13 games started is tied for third and his innings pitched ranks tied for fourth.
Sam Boone was honored with the Coaches' Award, going to the team's most improved player. Boone appeared in 51 of 53 games as a senior, starting 49, and finished second on the team in runs scored with 42. He totaled 53 hits and had nine doubles, eight home runs and two triples. On March 22 at Richmond, Boone had a career day, going 4-for-6 with two doubles, four runs scored and four RBI, all personal bests.
Adam Tempesta received The Dennis DellaPiana Memorial Award, which honors the courage, determination, and sportsmanship in a UMass baseball player. DellaPiana was truly a great student-athlete at UMass in the mid 1960's, but died in April of 1966 during his senior year after a long battle with Hodgkin's disease. His courage, determination and sportsmanship were exemplary.
In his final season with the Minutemen, Tempesta set new program career records for games played (182), at bats (747) and doubles (54), while finishing second all-time in hits with 239. In 2009, Tempesta batted .341 with 34 runs, 72 hits, 19 doubles and five home runs. His 2009 hits total ranks eighth in school history, one of four single season top-10 marks he set as a senior.
