D3baseball.com All-America Team

A trio of Centennial Conference baseball players have been named to the D3baseball.com All-America team, the organization announced on Thursday. Johns Hopkins catcher Clay Hartje and Franklin & Marshall designated hitter Matt Hollender earned second team accolades while McDaniel shortstop Thomas Mezzullo received fourth team honors. 
 
The honor marks the first All-America selection of Hartje's career following an explosive junior campaign. A two-time D3baseball.com Team of the Week selection and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division III Hitter of the Week honoree, Hartje owns a .340/.483/.742 slash line with a team-leading 1.225 OPS. The catcher has totaled 54 hits, 66 RBIs, 12 doubles and a team-best 16 home runs while drawing 43 walks, the second-most on the team. Hartje was especially dominant during the Centennial Conference Tournament, earning Most Valuable Player honors after hitting .643 (9-for-14) with 18 RBIs and six home runs, including two grand slams. He posted an astounding 2.671 OPS across the tournament.

Hollender is the fourth All-American in Franklin & Marshall baseball history, joining Tim Sheridan '96, Jonathan Cole '20, and Kyle Roche '23. Hollender recorded 62 hits in 137 at-bats, leading the conference with a .453 batting average this season. The Short Hills, New Jersey native notched a .781 slugging percentage this spring to break the program's career record, slugging .630 in four seasons. Hollender tallied 16 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, and 42 runs scored as he started 37 of F&M's 38 games this spring. Hollender drove-in 54 RBI during the year to break F&M's single-season record. The senior also drew 20 walks and registered an on-base percentage of .530.

Mezzullo is the second Green Terror to earn All-America honors from D3baseball.com since they were first recognized in 2007. Marty Windisch earned second team honors in 2016.He earned all-region honors from both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) after earning All-Centennial Conference accolades and being named the Centennial Conference Gold Glove of the Year. Mezzullo led the team and ranks second in the conference with a .433 batting average. He set a new program record and leads the conference with 71 hits while also rankling third in the league with 120 assists and posting a .954 fielding percentage at shortstop. He was one of two players to start all 43 of the team's games while totaling 13 doubles, a team-high five triples, five home runs, 51 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.