May 24, 2006

The Duquesne University baseball team had five student-athletes receive Atlantic 10 post-season awards as announced at Tuesday's Atlantic 10 Championship banquet.

Sophomore Eric Morrison (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) received All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. Starting all 53 games in center field, he led the team with 16 stolen bases, was second with a .315 batting average, in runs scored with 36 and doubles with 19 and was third with 29 RBI. In addition, he had a perfect fielding percentage, going errorless in 139 chances.

Freshman Mike Carroll (New Martinsville, PA/Magnolia) was named to the All-Rookie team as the Dukes' designated hitter. He was third best on the team with a .306 average and was second with six home runs. He also drove in 22 runs, scored 30 runs and swiped six bases.

Seniors Joe Berletic (Jefferson Hills, PA/Thomas Jefferson) and Steve Maiolo (Pittsburgh, PA/Mt. Lebanon) as well as junior Derek Mechling (Homer City, PA/Homer Center) were named to the Academic All-Conference Team.

Berletic is now a two-time A-10 Academic All-Conference honoree. A pharmacy major with a 3.76 gpa, he made 31 starts at third base and right field and turned in a .239 batting average. He also scored 19 runs, drove in 14 and was six for six in stolen base attempts.

Mechling led the Dukes in batting with a .337 average and leads the Atlantic 10 Conference with 21 doubles. A starter in 50 games, he also hit five home runs, drove in 32 runs and stole 12 bases. In the classroom, Mechling boasts a 3.63 gpa as a political science major.

Maiolo, a secondary education/citizenship major with a 3.94 grade point average, collects his third Academic All-Conference honor in as many years. A Third Team Academic All-American and Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year in 2005, he started all 53 games for the Dukes this season and holds the school record for most consecutive starts with 157. Maiolo finished the season with a .273 batting average with 30 runs scored and 21 RBI.