May 19, 2009
Philadelphia, Pa. - With the announcement of the 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Conference baseball awards this afternoon, fifth-year senior Danny Leach (Yonkers, N.Y./Iona Prep) and senior Bobby DiNardo (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) find themselves among the best in the conference. In the coaches' voting, Leach earned Second Team All-Conference honors while DiNardo was voted to the Academic All-Conference Team by the sports information directors in the conference.
Coming off of his first Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week award, Leach earns his first career All-Conference award after posting stellar numbers at the plate, leading the Rams in batting average (.336) and runs (51) while ranking 18th in the country in triples (6) and 23rd in stolen bases (29). And though the jack-of-all-trades found playing time in four different positions this year, he was selected by the coaches as a third basemen after the majority of his 52 starts this season came at the hot corner.
Leach's success with the Rams extends throughout his entire career as he has inked his name all over the Fordham record book. He has taken over the top spot for games played (209) and at bats (791) while currently ranking third in career triples (21) and stolen bases (85), tied for fifth in hits (226), sixth in runs (166) and seventh in career walks (116).
DiNardo's big bat that has stroked 15 home runs this year is not the only reason he finds himself on the Academic All-Conference Team for the first time in his career as he has carried a 3.32 GPA with a major in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance and Management throughout his four years at Rose Hill.
Those home runs did not hurt though. Like Leach, DiNardo has solidified his name in the Fordham record book as one of the top sluggers in Fordham history. His 15 homers this year rank third all-time on the single season list while his 28 career dingers is good for fourth place. His ability to hit the long ball also helped him garner tenth place in career RBI (130) while his 13 doubles this year brings him to 39 for his career, good for eighth place all-time.
Leach, DiNardo and the rest of the Fordham baseball team are now gearing up for their Atlantic 10 Championships match up against the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday, May 20, at 12:00 PM in Dayton, Ohio. For all the latest on the Atlantic 10 Championships, click here.
