May 23, 2007

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Gary Novakowski has been named the America East Pitcher of the Year the conference announced at its annual awards banquet on Wednesday evening. Five other Seawolves were honored on the evening as Novakowski was also named to the All-Conference First-Team along with Rob Leonard. Justin Echevarria, Mike Stephan and Brian Witkowski were named All-Conference Second Team, while Stephan and Rob Dyer were named to the All-Rookie team. In addition to his second-team honors, Witkowski was named to the All-Academic squad.

"Gary performed at an exceptionally high and consistent level for the team throughout conference play," said head coach Matt Senk. "It is a well deserved reward for all of Gary's hard work and commitment to his game."

Novakowski led the Seawolves pitching staff as the junior hurler was a perfect 5-0 in America East play. He finished the year with a 2.23 conference ERA, striking out 24 batters and limiting opposing hitters to a paltry .220 batting average in 36.1 innings on the mound.

Leonard led the Seawolves with a .422 batting average in conference as the senior outfielder slugged a team-best seven home runs on the year and drove in 42. Leonard was great in conference play as he slugged .723, totaling three doubles, two triples and six long balls.

Echevarria was a staple for the Seawolves at catcher this year as the sophomore had his best season in a Seawolf uniform. Echevarria hit .333 in conference play with 12 RBI and 10 runs scored.

Stephan came into his own this year as the Seawolves designated hitter. A redshirt freshman, Stephan led the Seawolves with a .545 on-base percentage in America East play. Stephan hit .344 with 20 runs scored, blasted two home runs and was hit by a conference best 22 pitches.

Witkowski finished the year with a .313 batting average and a team-best 61 hits. The sophomore centerfielder scored 35 runs and led the America East with 22 stolen bases. Witkowski cracked two home runs on the season and started a career-best 51 games. Witkowski is currently majoring in psychology and has a 3.04 GPA.

Dyer closed out the year with a .469 slugging percentage in America East play with four doubles and a pair of home runs. The redshirt freshman first baseman drove in eight runs and scored eight runs in his inaugural season.

The Seawolves will compete in the America East Championships on Thursday at 7:35 p.m. The second-seeded Seawolves will take on third-seeded Albany in the opening round. Stony Brook will host the event at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, N.Y.