Chittenden, Thompson Honored by New England League
August 16, 2011 | Baseball
Aug. 16, 2011
KEENE, N.H. - Louisville shortstop Alex Chittenden was named the top defensive player in the New England Collegiate Baseball League on Tuesday, while right-handed pitcher Jeff Thompson was selected as the league's top professional prospect.
Chittenden (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central HS), a rising sophomore for the Cardinals in 2012, compiled a .968 fielding percentage for the Keene Swamp Bats. He also led the league in assists with 123 on the season, 34 ahead of the second-place contender, and was second in putouts. His .968 fielding percentage was tops in the league for shortstops in 2011.
A key contributor to Keene's league title winning squad, Chittenden was also named First Team All-New England League on Tuesday after finishing the regular season with a .298 average at the plate to go along with four home runs, 29 RBI, seven doubles and 31 runs scored in 41 games, including eight playoff games. Last month, he was selected as the starting shortstop in the New England League All-Star Game.
| RHP Jeff Thompson  | |
Thompson (Greenville, Ind./Floyd Central HS), also a rising sophomore for Louisville in 2012, finished his summer with a 4-2 record overall with a 1.60 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 10 total starts and 50.2 innings pitched. After a strong regular season which helped him earn First Team All-New England League honors, the 6-6 righty was even better in the playoffs going 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA and 15 strikeouts in two playoff starts to lead Keene to the NECBL championship.
In his final start of the summer on Aug. 8, Thompson had 10 strikeouts while allowing only five hits in 6.2 innings of shutout baseball to earn the win against Holyoke. Thompson was also a starter in the New England League All-Star Game on July 27 registering a perfect inning of work.
