June 3, 2010
Villanova sophomore outfielder Matt Szczur (Cape May, NJ / Lower Cape May Regional) and Villanova senior righthander Brian Streilein (Staten Island, NY / Brick Memorial) were named the Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, in voting conducted by the city’s head coaches and sports information offices.
In that same vote, La Salle freshman Pat Christensen (La Jolla, CA / La Jolla) and Villanova freshman Kevin MacLachlan (Matawan, NJ / St. John Vianney) were named the Rookies of the Year, La Salle’s Brendan Norton (Lanesboro, MA / St. Joseph’s Central) was named the Student-Athlete of the Year, and La Salle’s Mike Lake was named the Coach of the Year. La Salle, which set a program record with 14 conference wins and qualified for the Atlantic 10 Tournament, was named the Team of the Year.
Szczur led the Big East and Big 5 with a .443 average and paced the Wildcats in nine different offensive categories despite missing 13 games due to donating peripheral blood cells to a young leukemia patient. He had 13 doubles, seven triples, four home runs and drove in 38. Szczur was an All-American in football this past fall after helping VU to the national championship.
Streilein repeats as the Big 5 Pitcher of the Year after going 6-3 with a 4.20 ERA. He struck out 78 batters in 90 innings and ranked in the top five in the Big East in both categories. The senior finishes his career second in Villanova history in strikeouts, third in wins and fourth in innings.
Christensen set a program record with 11 saves and was 4-4 with a 3.99 ERA. He struck out 55 batters in 56.1 innings and appeared in a program record 28 games. MacLachlan was 4-0 with a 3.70 ERA as the top mid-week starter for the Wildcats. Villanova was 11-3 in games he started.
Norton batted .400 with two home runs and 33 RBI for the Explorers while carrying a 3.75 grade point average as an accounting major. He became the first La Salle player to hit .400 since 1996 and was an Academic All-Atlantic 10 and Academic All-District selection.
In just his third year guiding the Explorers, Lake took La Salle to the postseason in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He also helped the team to the most A-10 league wins ever and the most wins overall since 1999.
Also on the All-Big 5 team are La Salle’s Christensen, Norton, Jon Gyles (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks West), John Malloy (Fairless Hills, PA / Conwell-Egan),and Eric Van Wyk (Garnet Valley, PA / Garnet Valley); Penn’s Steve Gable (Emmaus, PA / Emmaus), Tom Grandieri (Media, PA / Malvern Prep), Chris McNulty (Bayonne, NJ / St. Peter’s Prep), and Dan Williams (Southhampton, NJ / Seneca); Saint Joseph’s Dewey Oriente (Mount Royal, NJ / Bishop Eustace)and David Valesente (Ithaca, NY /Lansing); Temple’s Ryan Ferguson (Glen Mills, PA / Garnet Valley), Adrian Perez (Woodland, CA / Yuba CC), and Ben White (Parkesburg, PA / Coatesville); and Villanova’s Szczur, Streilein and Justin Bencsko (Pompton Plains, NJ / Pequannock).
2010 PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 TEAMName School Pos. Hometown AVG HR RBI
Ryan Ferguson Temple C Glen Mills, PA .328 5 40
Jon Gyles La Salle 1B Doylestown, PA .343 2 47
Steve Gable Penn 2B Emmaus, PA .337 1 25
David Valesente Saint Joseph's 2B Ithaca, NY .326 4 32
Adrian Perez Temple SS Woodland, CA .326 5 36
Brendan Norton La Salle 3B Lanesboro, MA .400 2 33
Dan Williams Penn 3B Southhampton, NJ .403 4 26
Justin Bencsko Villanova OF Pompton Plains, NJ .356 2 31
Tom Grandieri Penn OF Media, PA .399 7 46
John Malloy La Salle OF Fairless Hills, PA .325 4 41
Matt Szczur Villanova OF Cape May, NJ .443 4 38
Dewey Oriente Saint Joseph's DH Mount Royal, NJ .339 4 35Name School Pos. Hometown ERA W-L K
Chris McNulty Penn SP Bayonne, NJ 4.25 5-1 33
Brian Streilein Villanova SP Staten Island, NY 4.20 6-3 78
Eric Van Wyk La Salle SP Garnett Valley, PA 5.73 7-2 58
Ben White Temple SP Parkesburg, PA 5.32 4-6 94
Pat Christensen La Salle RP La Jolla, CA 3.99 4-4 11 SVSPlayer of the Year: Matt Szczur, Villanova
Pitcher of the Year: Brian Streilein, Villanova
Rookies of the Year: Pat Christensen, La Salle & Kevin MacLachlan, Villanova
Student-Athlete of the Year: Brendan Norton, La Salle
Coach of the Year: Mike Lake, La Salle
Team of the Year: La Salle2010 PHILADELPHIA BIG 5 ACADEMIC TEAM
Name School Major GPA AVG HR RBI
Brendan Norton La Salle Accounting 3.75 .400 2 33
Dain Hall Villanova Finance 3.67 .328 1 36Name School Major GPA ERA W-L K
Quentin Farr Saint Joseph's Marketing 3.30 4.50 3-2 19
Chris McNulty Penn Philosophy, 3.60 4.25 5-1 33
Politics & Economics
Ben White Temple Political Science 3.41 5.32 4-6 94
