May 8, 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-District II baseball team on Thursday. All three earned a spot on the first team and advance to the national ballot.

Pietroforte earned all-district honors for the third straight year and will look to repeat on the national academic all-america team as he was a third team selection last year. Pietroforte has started 37 games in center field this year and is hitting .485 in those contests. He 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 second straight and ninth Centennial Conference title overall this spring. Pietroforte has a career-high 18 doubles and six home runs this season. Pietroforte is currently on a 26-game hit streak and needs just nine more hits to become the second player in school history to reach 200 career hits. Pietroforte ranks among the top ten in several JHU career statistical categories and his on-base percentage has ranked among the top ten in the nation all-season. He is a Dean's List student in economics with a 3.73 GPA. Pietroforte also works as a teaching assistant in the business department.

Fester earns all-district honors for the second straight season. He played in the first 18 games of the year at shortstop before suffering an injury but is hoping to return to the field when the Blue Jays begin play at the NCAA Regional Tournament next week. Fester hit .448 prior to his injury with nine doubles, two triples and three home runs. He needs just two more doubles to tie the JHU and Centennial Conference career doubles record. Fester has hit safely in 28-games dating back to the end of last season. He has a 3.27 GPA as a political science major and works as a game operations supervisor in the fall and winter.

Kealy earns all-district honors for the first time in his career. The reliever has appeared in 11 games out the bullpen for the Blue Jays. Kealy has posted a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings. He has a 4-1 record this season with two saves and is 6-1 over the last two seasons out of the bullpen. Kealy has surrendered just six runs this season and of those six, only two have been earned runs. He has allowed just two extra base hits while striking out 22 batters. Kealy is a Dean's List student majoring in economics with a 3.86 GPA. He is also a teaching assistant in the business department.

The District II region includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Athletes named to the first team qualify for the national ballot, with the national team due to be announced on May 27. 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.

Pietroforte, Fester, Kealy and the rest of the Blue Jays are currently 34-5 and ranked #10 in the latest ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Poll. The Blue Jays captured their second straight and ninth Centennial Conference Title overall and with that a bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. Regional play begins on May 14 with the brackets and tournament information to be released on May 12.

- 30 -

© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About Us | Advertise | Feedback | XML RSS Feeds