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Shanahan Clinches
Div. III Batting Title
(Nashua) - The final numbers are in and
Daniel Webster College can lay claim to a national champion.
All-Conference baseball standout Chris Shanahan has captured the NCAA
baseball batting title for Division III with a .524 average.
Shanahan, a native of Nashua, N.H. who graduated from Daniel Webster in
May with a degree in Sport Management, was the top hitter among all 360
NCAA Division III baseball sponsoring institutions nationwide and edged
his closest competitor, Chris Kenney of Williams College, by a full 24
points.
A three position player (pitcher, catcher, third base), Shanahan
collected 43 hits in 82 at bats in just 26 games played. Shanahan earned
the batting title in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), and
was named co-recipient of the GNAC Player of the Year Award (with two
other performers), the first such award for the Eagle baseball program.
A two-time team captain, Shanahan was a bright spot to an Eagles program
that is slowly improving under the guidance of fourth year Head Coach
Jim Cardello. The Eagles posted a 5-21 overall record in 2006 including
a 4-11 mark in GNAC play and qualified for the GNAC championship
tournament, bowing in the opening round to Suffolk University.
“I've coached many players over the years on numerous levels and none
have shown the commitment to be a great hitter as much as Chris has,”
said Cardello. “When I came on board (in 2003) Chris was already a good
hitter. As he matured he began to understand the key to all great
hitters – patience. As a junior he always knew when he was too over
anxious. Inevitably, that learning experience paid significant dividends
for him as a senior.”
DWC Director of Athletics John Griffith noted that Shanahan’s
accomplishments can easily be regarded as one of the top individual
performances in DWC athletic history. “Chris’s maturity and talent
allowed him to perform at an exceptional level and his season was easily
one of the best in our history,” Griffith said. “He worked incredibly
hard to achieve his goals and the entire college community is extremely
proud of him.”
Across NCAA classification lines, Shanahan posted a better average than
all NCAA Division I players as Mike Goetz of the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee finished as the top slugger at .493. NCAA Division
II performer Carlos Gutierez of Elizabeth City State College (N.C.) led
all hitters across all divisions with a .548 average.
Shanahan slugged .732 with a team best six doubles, four triples and one
home run. His slugging percentage listed him 21st nationally in Division
III. Shanahan also led the Eagles in games played (26), total bases
(60), RBI (20), walks (15), at-bats (82), and total hits (43). On the
mound, the right hander appeared in two outings, allowing six earned
runs in 10 1/3 innings.
The NCAA will honor Shanahan with a plaque commemorating his
achievement. DWC will also receive an additional plaque for permanent
display on the College campus.
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