Birchard leads trio of baseball All-Americans

Niagara County Community College sophomore pitcher Ryan Birchard led a trio of Thunderwolves named to the recently-released NJCAA Division III All-American teams. It was just the second time in program history that three players were honored in the same year (2018).

Birchard was a first-team selection after going 8-0 with a 1.08 earned-run average and 95 strikeouts on the mound. The right-hander allowed just 29 hits and six earned runs in 50 innings pitched. He was also named the Region III Div. III and Western New York Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Sophomore outfielder Alex Minnehan was a second-team choice after leading the team in batting average (.428), hits (65), runs (62), stolen bases (63) and walks (28). Minnehan's stolen-base total was tops in the country. He was also the Region III Div. III Defensive Player of the Year.

Sophomore catcher Nicholas Castellana was a third-team pick after hitting .427 with 53 hits, 19 extra-base hits, 37 RBIs and a team-best .669 slugging percentage. Castellana also recorded 355 put-outs, threw out seven would-be base stealers and committed just two errors all season.