May 10, 2007

EDINGBURG, TX - New Jersey Institute of Technology baseball athletes Austin DeRogatis, Rob Pietrocola and PJ Saporito were named to the NCAA Division I Independent All-Academic team for 2007, Sports Information Director Joe Monaco announced today.

DeRogaits, a graduate of Toms River South High School and Pietrocola a junior graduate of St. Joseph's Metuchen High School are both Civil Engineering majors while Saporito a graduate of New Milford High School is a Chemical Engineering major.

Senior first baseman DeRogatis, holds a 3.930 GPA in civil engineering and is enrolled in the Albert Dorman Honors College at New Jersey Institute of Technology. DeRogatis, the senior with the highest GPA on the baseball team received the Highlander Academic Award at NJIT's annual end of the year Athletic Awards Sports Banquet. Last year, he was the recipient winner for the Joseph M. Fitzgerald Memorial Award, which is the junior with the highest GPA.

Entering his third year as a starter, DeRogatis is a team leader who is an exemplary student-athlete on an off the field. Batting .296, he hit his first homerun of the season against St. Joseph's on April 11. The senior has had only 54 at-bats this season after missing nearly 3 weeks after being hit by a pitch in Florida on March 11. He has been accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he will further his education.

Pietrocola, a versatile performer, helped the team this year in the outfield, on the mound and as the designated hitter. He ranks third on the team with a .302 batting average playing in 15 games, with 16 hits and seven RBI's. On the mound, he has appeared in seven games, starting six in 33.1 innings of work striking out 20 batters. In the field, he has combined for a .971 fielding percentage average. A native of Parlin, NJ, he holds a 3.28 GPA in Civil Engineering.

Saporito, who was named New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association Pitcher of the Week on May 8, has compiled a record of 4-4 in nine starts. He leads the team in strikeouts with 44. He ranks second on the team with a 5.73 ERA behind left handed relief specialist Cory Kuzmik. Saporito threw a complete-game five-hitter for the school's first Division I shutout in a 2-0 win over visiting New York Institute of Technology on May 4, 2007. He struck out nine of the visiting Bears, while allowing five hits without a walk. A native of New Milford, NJ, Saporito holds a 3.717 in Chemical Engineering.

The NCAA Division I Academic All-Independent team was selected by Sports Information Directors at member institutions. Nominations from each school were accepted for student-athletes who had a least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, had reached at least a sophomore academic standing and were a starter or key reserve for their respective program.

Other institutions represented on the 33-player team included IPFW, Longwood, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and University of Texas-Pan American.