EDISON, N.J. - Junior first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) of the Marist baseball team was named Metro Atlantic Athletic conference Player of the Week on Monday.
Orefice hit .500 (8-for-16) with two home runs, nine runs batted in and seven runs scored at Marist went 5-0 this past week. He had an on-base percentage of .600 and a slugging percentage of .938, as three of his hits went for extra bases.
In game one of a doubleheader against Brown on May 2, he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk. In the first game of a doubleheader against Lafayette on May 5, Orefice homered in his first two at-bats and doubled as he went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs scored. He then went 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk in game two. At Lafayette on May 6, he was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Orefice also handled all 40 of his fielding chances flawlessly, with 39 putouts and one assist.
For the season, Orefice is hitting .329 while leading the Red Foxes in home runs (four), runs batted in (27), doubles (10), on-base percentage (.441) and slugging percentage (.477).
This is the first time Orefice has been named MAAC Player of the Week, and the second weekly award he has earned from the conference in his career. Orefice was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on April 19, 2010.
Orefice's award makes it six that the Red Foxes have earned from the MAAC this season. Sophomore outfielder Jake Berry (South Hamilton, Mass.) was named MAAC Player of the Week on April 23. Red-shirt senior left-hander Chad Gallagher (Southboro, Mass.) was named MAAC Pitcher of the Week on March 26 and April 16. Freshman second baseman Alec Petrone (Mahopac, N.Y.) was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on April 2, and freshman catcher Mark Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.) was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Feb. 21.
Marist, which has won 10 of its last 11, is 23-21 on the season and 9-8 in MAAC play. The Red Foxes next host Canisius in a three-game series this weekend at McCann Baseball Field. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at noon, followed by a single game on Sunday at noon.
