ABCA/Rawlings All-America: Alex Perry

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University freshman Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) adds All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) to his lengthy first-year résumé after an historic season as designated hitter for the Seahawks.

The American Baseball Coaches Association announced the 2015 ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans, the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove team and the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Bat Award as National Player of the Year for NCAA Division III at the outset of the national championships in Appleton, Wis.

Perry becomes the first Seahawk honored as All-America since 2005 when current head coach and then-senior Eric Cirella helped lead the program to a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship. Perry is the third all-time in the history of the Salve Regina baseball program, joining Ryan Holleran (2002) and Cirella (2004, 2005) on the exclusive list.

From his head coach: "I couldn't be happier for Alex. That's a prestigious award (ABCA/Rawlings) and he is every bit deserving. He had a special season with the bat in his hands. I know Alex is going to continue to work hard to build on this season and become a more complete and dynamic player."

The CCC rookie and player of the year (first time for any player in the same season), Perry leads the nation in runs batted in per game (1.57 RBI/gm). In a jam-packed April with 21 games, Perry hit an incredible .487, with nine homers and 42 RBI, slugging .902 for the month.

He completed his first season with a 25-game hit streak, and also went 4-for-8 in Salve Regina's two-game sweep for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Baseball Championship (May 9-10). Perry also batted .500 with two doubles and a homer in five games versus NCAA tournament teams.

The full ABCA/Rawlings All-America and Gold Glove teams are at this link:

http://abca.org/awards/all-americans/ncaa_div_iii/2015

The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now features nine divisions. The first ABCA NCAA Div. III All-America team was recognized in 1976. An archive is available at http://abca.org/awards/all-americans

Established in 1945, the ABCA is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 6,600 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, Junior College, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. The 72nd annual ABCA Convention will be held Jan. 7-10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee.