Cunningham sets Wentworth records

Nick Cunningham (inset) started the season hitting third for the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team. By season's end, the junior outfielder from Pembroke had delivered one of the best seasons in the history of the program.

Cunningham set single-season records for hits (54), doubles (14), at-bats (150), and games played (44). His .360 batting average ranked second on the Leopards, and he added 3 triples, 3 home runs, and 38 RBIs as Wentworth registered a school-record 30 wins.

"Nick from day one has been swinging the bat well for us, and he did most of his damage in the postseason," Wentworth coach Steve Studley said.

In five playoff games, Cunningham reached base safely in every at bat except three as the Leopards reached the Commonwealth Coast Conference final for the first time since 1996 and earned their second ECAC Tournament berth.

Cunningham, who earned honorable mention all-star conference honors, ended the season with a 12-game hitting streak. In three seasons, he has started 97 of 100 games, compiling a .311 average with 68 RBIs.

Cunningham arrived at Wentworth as a hockey and baseball player. As a sophomore, he gave up hockey to focus on baseball, even though the Leopards had a struggling program.

When the 2009 season rolls around, Studley is expecting an even stronger performance out of Cunningham, a graduate of the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton. He is about 30 hits shy of becoming Wentworth's all-time hits leader.

"He has the ability to hit with more power, and if he can increase that, I think he will be a first-team all-league player," Studley said.

Studley, a 1989 Marshfield High graduate who just completed his fourth season at Wentworth, said players like Cunningham helped the program post more wins this season than in the previous three combined.

Wheaton junior Stacey Kelleher earned national recognition recently when the Brockton High graduate was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America second team.

Kelleher collected 25 RBIs, scored 26 runs, and hit .384 for the Lyons, who finished 29-14, second in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. Fifteen players were selected to the second team, and Kelleher, a first baseman, became the first Lyon to earn the honor since 2003. Other accolades for Kelleher this season include a first-team selection to the NEWMAC team and NFCA All-New England first-team honors.

Stonehill freshman Kevin Gill of Brockton became the first athlete to win the Northeast-10 Conference's freshman of the year award three times in a school year.

Gill pocketed the award in men's cross-country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. He broke several school records in his first season, including one set by his senior brother, Keith, in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3 minutes 50.17 seconds.

Gill also qualified for the NCAA Championships for a third consecutive time, another school first, and earned a berth in the USA Juniors meet for runners under 19 years old on June 21 in Ohio.

A free symposium designed to help college-bound student-athletes with the transition to college athletics will be offered by the University of Massachusetts at Lowell athletic department on June 5 at the Campus Recreation Center.

The event, "Opening the Door to College Sports: The College Recruiting Process from A to Z," will begin at 7 p.m. It is open to high school coaches, students, administrators, and parents.

Among the speakers will be UMass-Lowell director of athletics Dana Skinner. To register, visit goriverhawks.com or call 978-934-4625.