Cumberlands Mandarino named Cal Ripken League All-Star

Click to view image

LEBANON, Tenn. - Cumberland baseball All-American Mike Mandarino was named to the Cal Ripken League All-Star Team, a wooden bat summer league for college players comprised of eight teams in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan region. The Cal Ripken League All-Stars will take on the Valley League on Monday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET at James Madison University's Eagle Field in Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va.

Mandarino plays for the Southern Maryland Nationals in St. Leonard, Md., a team managed by Chuck Winegardner, father of former Bulldog Tommy Winegardner. Mandarino is batting .359 with eight doubles, four homers, 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 23 contests for the Nationals. He is also 2-1 with a 2.96 earned-run-average on the mound in five appearances with four starts and 24.1 innings of work, allowing eight earned runs with six walks and 15 strikeouts.

The Massapequa, N.Y., native put up monstrous numbers despite the new bats in college baseball in 2011, batting .370 with 19 doubles, 18 homers and 66 RBIs as well as 50 runs scored. He finished second on the club in average and runs scored and led the Bulldogs in doubles, homers and RBIs. He ranked sixth nationally in home runs and total bases (153), 20th in doubles and RBIs and 23rd in slugging percentage (.708).

Mandarino, CU's full-time designated hitter and also a weekend starter for most of the year, also compiled a 5-3 record on the mound with a 4.37 ERA in 11 starts and 47.1 innings of work, striking out 35.

The Ripken League and Valley League are both members of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (www.nacsb.org ), an organization which fosters cooperation and coordination among summer college baseball leagues around the nation.