May 17, 2006

Norfolk, Va. - Bethune-Cookman College baseball collected All-MEAC honors tonight, as announced by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), with a complete sweep of Coach of the Year (Mervyl Melendez), Player of the Year (Nabil Sagbini) and Rookie of the Year (José Ortiz-Rivera).

After finishing the regular season with a perfect 15-0 record in the MEAC, the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman swept the conference honors while the names were released at the annual pre-tournament banquet held at Norfolk State University on Wednesday night.

Leading the list was Nabil Sagbini (Barranquilla, Colombia), a senior right fielder for the Wildcats, named as Player of the Year. Sagbini was also named to the All-MEAC First Team as well in the outfield. Sagbini, who earned MEAC Player of the Week accolades twice this season, led the league with a .683 slugging percentage. He led the `Cats in batting (.376) and homeruns (10), while also recording a team second-best 11 doubles, five triples and 35 RBI. Sagbini became the first grand slam of his career in the first game of a doubleheader against North Carolina A&T. Sagbini was named to the All-MEAC Second Team last season.

As Rookie of the Year, José Ortiz-Rivera led the league with 50 runs scored, averaging one run in every game he played this season. He posted 14 RBI, including two doubles, two triples and two homeruns while batting .270 from the field. The outfielder was second among freshman with 34 walks and third with 16 stolen bases. Against league opponents, Ortiz-Rivera led the conference with eight doubles and was third in the league with 19 runs scored. The freshman garnered Rookie of the Week honors four times this season.

Coach of the Year honors, as if it was any doubt, went to Mervyl Melendez. Melendez helped to coach the team that tied the best record in MEAC history with a perfect 15-0 mark in the league ... tying Howard (1998). B-CC led the league with seven players named to the All-MEAC Teams. Joining Sagbini were pitchers R.J. Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.), Francisco Rodriguez and Francisco Gomez and catcher Jorge Mico (Hialeah, Fla.).

On the All-MEAC Second Team, the Wildcats placed shortstop Chris Henault and left fielder Colin Irvine (Oviedo, Fla.).

The Wildcats will play their first game in the 2006 MEAC Tournament on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Marty L. Miller Stadium on the campus of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va. The Wildcats are the number one seed overall in this year's tournament.