MCLA to induct 1987 Baseball team into Athletics Hall of Fame on October 17th

2015 MCLA Athletics Hall of Fame registration

North Adams, MA- The MCLA Athletics department will hold their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Holiday Inn in downtown North Adams.  The lone inductee this year will be the 1987 Men's Baseball team, which captured the MASCAC championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

MCLA will also honor Bob Kyle '90 as the recipient of the Athletic Director's Leadership award for his dedication and passion to the baseball program.

The 1987 team was under the direction of legendary coach and former director of athletics Joe Zavattaro.  The club started the season 0-5 before rattling off a 25-5 stretch to finish 25-10 on its way to capturing the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference championship.  The team had a 13 game winning streak and won 16 of 17 games over the closing stretch of the season to earn their ticket to the 32 team NCAA tournament.  Zavattaro's team was shipped to Montclair State for regional play and their season ended with a loss to William Patterson.

The team featured three All New England performers in outfielder Kevin Carmody, utility player Tom Rizzo, and starting pitcher Bill Fitzpatrick.  Sean McMahon, along with the three players mentioned above, were all voted All Conference during the season. The 1987 team had six players who went on to play professionally.

Kyle is the recipient of the Director's award for his leadership with the alumni.  Kyle was a member of the 1984 and 1986 baseball program and was an integral part in reconnecting alumni with the program through reunion weekend.  Kyle's leadership has led to increased presence at all baseball alumni functions.  He was also known as the consummate teammate throughout his career.

The Induction ceremony will begin with refreshments at 5:30pm and the enshrinement will begin promptly at 6pm.  Registration is required for the event and can be handled online at the following address:

2015 MCLA Athletics Hall of Fame registration

Pre-Registered guests are $45 for Adults and $20 for children under 12.  For more information, please contact Jeff Puleri, Assistant Athletics Director for Communication and Development at (413) 662-5403 or via email at j.puleri@mcla.edu