Trinity Baseball's Killeen Honored By Umpires for Sportsmanship

Hartford, Conn. - Trinity College baseball senior co-captain Sean Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.) was honored by the Collegiate Baseball Umpires Association  of New England as its 2008 Whitey Allard-Marty McDonough Sportsmanship Award recipient.

 The Trinity baseball squad, coached by Bill Decker, reached unprecedented heights this spring with a best-ever record of 45-1 including a second New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship title, a third NCAA Division III Regional Championship crown, and the first NCAA Division III National Team Championship title in College history in any sport.  The Bantams breezed through the NESCAC East Division with a 12-0 mark and the regular season with a 34-0 record, and broke the Division III record for fastest start and longest winning streak with 44 wins to start the season.  Trinity recovered from its first loss of the year, 4-3, to Johns Hopkins on the final day of the Division III World Series to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a national title-clinching, 5-4 triumph over Johns Hopkins in the finals.  Trinity finished ranked No. 1 in both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), and D3Baseball.com National Polls. 

Killeen, a two-time All-NESCAC selection and the 2006 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, started all 46 games behind the plate for the Bantams, finishing second on the team and ninth in the league in batting with a .378 average (62-164, 2nd on team and in NESCAC in hits) with 12 doubles (tied for team lead), four triples, seven homers, a team-high 57 runs (1st in NESCAC, 24th in nation), and 43 RBI (3rd on team).  He led the team in walks (30, tied College record) and on-base percentage (.498) and threw out 10 out of 36 potential basestealers.  Killeen was also selected to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team.  A graduate of Greenfield High School, Killeen is majoring in economics at Trinity.  He is the son of Jody and Jim Killeen.

The Whitey Allard-Mart y McDonough Sportsmanship Award recognizes a college player or coach who exemplifies the true spirit of sportsmanship, and exhibits a sincere respect for opponents, umpires, and the game of baseball. The Award was named in memory of two most distinguished & dedicated umpires- Whitey Allard & Marty McDonough.