March 7, 2011

Baseball Senior Ben Farina Named Akadema/NEC Player of the Week

HAMDEN, Conn. - Quinnipiac baseball senior assistant captain Ben Farina (Waterford, Conn.) has been named the Akadema/Northeast Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the NEC office today. Farina led the Bobcats to a 2-1 season-opening record this weekend with wins against Marshall and Ball State at Coastal Carolina's Caravelle International Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He is the 19th player in Quinnipiac history to win the weekly honor from the NEC.

Farina strung together three straight multiple-hit performances on his way to a .429 (6-14) average for the weekend. Farina notched two hits, stole a base, and scored a run in each of the three contests. The fourth-year Bobcat walked and scored in a six-run sixth inning that lifted Quinnipiac to an 8-3 season-opening win over Marshall. His RBI single gave Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead two batters into a second game against Marshall, which ended with the Bobcats on the short side of a 7-3 decision. One day later, Farina was in the middle of Quinnipiac's four-run fifth inning that highlighted the Bobcats' 5-4 win over Ball State. The senior outfielder laced an RBI single and came around to score as Quinnipiac left Myrtle Beach with a pair of wins.

Farina, Quinnipiac's active hit leader, pushed his career total to 187, leaving him 13 shy of becoming the seventh player in Quinnipiac history to reach the 200-hit mark. He is currently ranked eighth at Quinnipiac all-time and sixth at the Division I level.

Quinnipiac is back in action this weekend when they take on the University of Richmond in a three-game series on March 11-13 in Richmond, Va.