WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University freshman first baseman Ryan Berardino (Sudbury/ Lincoln-Sudbury Reg. HS), the fourth-leading hitter in the Northeast-10 Conference, has been selected as the ABCA Division II East Region Rookie of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

It's the fourth postseason award for the Falcons' top hitter. Previously, he was named the Rookie Hitter of the Year in the Northeast-10 and was selected for both the All-Conference second team and the NE-10 All-Rookie Team.

Berardino  finished the season with a .355 batting average, the best by a Falcon during the last seven seasons, and a .442 on base percentage, ninth best in the conference. Although an injury sidelined him for ten games in March and early April, he shared the team lead in hits (39) and was second in both walks (11) and times hit by pitch (7).

After returning from injury that sidelined him for ten games in March and early April, Berardino hit .386 and reached base exactly 50 percent of the time during the remainder of the season. He finished the season with a .395 average with runners in scoring position and connected at a .407 clip with runners on base.

Bentley's number three hitter in coach Bob DeFelice's lineup during the season's final 18 games, Berardino had 13 multi-hit games, including three with three.

Berardino comes from strong baseball stock. One of his grandfathers is Red Sox Hall of Famer Dwight Evans and the other is longtime minor league manager Dick Berardino.