July 22, 2001

Juniors Anthony Bocchino (Brooklyn, NY) and Tim Bittner (Wilmington, DE) were named to the 2001 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I All-Star Team, it was announced today by the conference.

Bocchino, who was honored with first team honors, ranks 12th in the country with a .430 batting average (86-for-200), 13th among Division I student-athletes with 64 runs batted in, and 19th in NCAA statistics with six triples on the year. Bocchino was a 2000 & 2001 All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference selection and led his conference in batting average, hits, and RBI's this past season. During the 2001 MAAC Baseball Tournament, the junior earned Most Valuable Player honors after batting .538 at the plate with seven hits, seven RBI's, and three runs along with a double and grand slam, in guiding Marist to its second consecutive conference title and NCAA Tournament berth. During the Red Foxes NCAA run, Bocchino led his squad hitting .455 at the plate with a team-leading five hits, .545 slugging percentage, .500 on base percentage, and two runs batted in.

Bittner, who was an honorable mention, finished the year batting .397, 49th in the country and second on the team behind Bocchino, along with a .363 ERA on the mound in 14 appearances, serving as both the Red Foxes' top pitcher and designated hitter. Bittner, a 2001 All-MAAC honoree, was second in the league in batting average and third in hits. He concluded the year 8-3 from the hill, including Marist's victory over Long Beach State in the NCAA Tournament at the Palo Alto, CA Regional, which eliminated the 49ers, a team which reached the College World Series in 1998, from tournament play. During the MAAC Baseball Tournament, Bittner guided the Red Foxes into the championship game after hurling a complete game with 11 strikeout in a 13-3 victory over LeMoyne and finished the three-game tournament batting .400 with six hits, four runs scored, and seven runs batted in.

The Marist baseball team, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions, finished the 2001 season with a 33-21-1 mark and returned to its third ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The 33 victories captured this season tied the school record for most wins in year, a feat also accomplished by the 2000 NCAA Tournament squad. Marist picked-up the school's second ever NCAA Tournament victory with a 7-6 win over Long Beach State, before being eliminated by nationally fourth ranked Stanford.