It should surprise exactly nobody that the Division I champion Londonderry High baseball team had a bunch of its standouts garner all-state recognition from the New Hampshire High School Baseball Coaches Association, including Player of the Year Honors for 2014.
Southern New Hampshire University-bound senior star Rob Del Signore – who had previously been named the New Hampshire Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the spring 2014 campaign – was named the state hardball coaches’ Division I Player of the Year, and four of Del Signore’s Lancer teammates also garnered all-state honors.
Versatile junior Colby Joncas joined Del Signore as a First-Team All-Stater, seniors Brett Evangelista and Tom Corey both collected second team honors, and junior Geoff Kayo was a third team pick.
Left-handed star Del Signore was a two-way star for the Lancers during their glorious 2014 campaign, pitching his way to a 6-2 pitching record with a microscopic 0.44 earned run average (just four earned runs in 10 games) and 117 strikeouts in 64 innings.
And when he had a bat in his hands, Del Signore was nearly as impressive, leading his title-winning team in runs batted in (25), total bases (tied with 40), and triples (2, tied) while batting at a .342 clip with seven doubles, a .526 slugging percentage, and a .429 on base percentage.
His fellow first team pick Joncas – the Lancers’ rock-solid catcher – contributed to his team’s great season with a .297 batting average, 28 total bases, 18 RBI, six doubles, and a .440 OBP.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst-bound stalwart Brett Evangelista – who was also an all-stater in ice hockey during the high school winter season – led or co-led the D-I champions in runs scored (25), hits (29), triples (2), batting average (.358), stolen bases (19), and total bases (40).
Franklin Pierce University-bound Corey was also a two-way stalwart for the Lancers, pitching them to the state championship in the title game against Pinkerton and tallying a 4-2 mound record on the season with a fine 2.11 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 53 innings.
At the plate, the lanky righty led his team in doubles (8), home runs (2), and slugging percentage (.536) while batting at a .286 clip with 12 RBI and 30 total bases.
And third teamer Kayo also made a significant difference for Londonderry, leading the team in walks (16) and finishing second on the squad with 18 runs scored. The junior infielder/pitcher batted at a .324 clip, tallied a .443 OBP, drove in 15 runs, and collected 29 total bases.