MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (May 27) – California University of Pennsylvania junior outfielder
Sam DiMatteo (Center, Pa./Center) became only the second American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-American in program history on Thursday, as he received Second-Team All-America laurels.
He joins former major league pitcher and Olympian
Rick Krivda as the only ABCA All-Americans in Vulcan history. Krivda earned first-team All-America honors in 1991 before being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles. Former pitcher/outfielder
Ryan Balan later received ABCA All-American Honorable Mention in 2002.
DiMatteo established career highs in virtually every category during the 2009 season. The 5-11 outfielder posted a .405 batting average (70-for-173) with 12 doubles, two triples, 12 homers, 50 RBI, 57 runs scored and 40 stolen bases. He led the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in steals and was among the league leaders in batting average, runs, homers, slugging percentage (.705) and total bases (122).
The former Center standout set new single-season school records in both runs scored and stolen bases this year. He enters his senior season already ranking among the all-time leaders in hits, homers, RBI, runs and steals.
DiMatteo, a two-time All-PSAC West First Team selection, received first-team all-region honors from the ABCA, Daktronics and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) following the season. Additionally, he earned All-America Honorable Mention from Daktronics.