Hopkins Places Three on <i>ESPN the Magazine</i> Academic All-America Team :: Pietroforte Earns Academic All-America Honors for the Second Straight Year

Hopkins Places Three on ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Team

Pietroforte Earns Academic All-America Honors for the Second Straight Year

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Senior Rob Pietroforte was one of three Blue Jays to earn ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Honors.

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May 29, 2008

BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins seniors Rob Pietroforte (Brooklyn, NY/Berkeley Carroll), Jonas Fester (Dallas, TX/Syosset (NY)) and Ryan Kealy (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley) were named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Baseball team released on Tuesday. Pietroforte earned first team honors, Kealy was a second team selection and Fester was a third team selection.

Pietroforte earned Academic All-America honors for the second straight year, as he was a third team selection last season. Pietroforte started 48 games in center field this year and hit .435 in those contests. He was a member of the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team and was a First Team All-Centennial selection earlier this season, becoming just the fifth person in Centennial Conference history to earn first team honors three times. He helped lead Hopkins to its first appearance in the College World Series since 1989 and claim its second straight and ninth Centennial Conference title overall this spring. Pietroforte had a career-high 22 doubles and six home runs this season. He had a 26-game hit streak during the season and became the second player in school history to reach 200 career hits. He finished his career holding the JHU career triples record with 16. Pietroforte ranks among the top ten in several JHU career statistical categories and his on-base percentage ranked among the top ten in the nation all-season. He graduated as a Dean's List student in economics with a 3.73 GPA. Pietroforte worked as a teaching assistant in the business department.

Kealy earned Academic All-America honors for the first time in his career. He earned a spot on the College World Series All-Tournament team, after pitching 10 innings and picking up the win against Adrian. The reliever appeared in 14 games out the bullpen for the Blue Jays. Kealy posted a 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings. He had a 6-1 record this season with two saves and was 8-1 over the last two seasons out of the bullpen. Kealy surrendered just eight runs this season and of those six, only four were earned runs. He allowed just four extra base hits while striking out 31 batters. He helped lead Hopkins to its first appearance in the College World Series since 1989 and claim its second straight and ninth Centennial Conference title overall this spring. Kealy graduated as a Dean's List student in economics with a 3.86 GPA. He was a teaching assistant in the business department.

Fester earned Academic All-America honors for the first time in his career after being an all-district selection the last two seasons. He played in 29 games this season, missing 21 games mid-season due to injury. Fester hit .402 with 12 doubles, two triples and three home runs this season. He helped lead Hopkins to its first appearance in the College World Series since 1989 and claim its second straight and ninth Centennial Conference title overall this spring. During the NCAA College World Series he hit the 51st double of his career, which broke the JHU and Centennial Conference career doubles record. Fester hit safely in 29-games dating back to the end of last season before that streak was snapped at the NCAA South Regional tournament. He graduated with a 3.27 GPA as a political science major and worked as a game operations supervisor in the fall and winter.

To be nominated for the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 or higher cumulative grade point average and be a starter or significant reserve.

The Blue Jays finished the season with a record of 42-8, 16-2 in Centennial Conference play and ranked second in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Poll. Hopkins finished second at the NCAA Division III College World Series after capturing the NCAA South Regional Tournament. Earlier this season, Hopkins won its second straight and ninth Centennial Conference Title overall. The Blue Jays who set the school record for wins in a season lose Pietroforte, Kealy, Fester and 13 other seniors to graduation but welcome back a core group for the 2009 season.

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