MCC’s Simon, Lowers named to NJCAA All-American teams

Manchester Community College Right handed pitcher Steve Simon (Middlefield) was named First Team National Junior College Athletic Association Division III All-American while teammate and catcher A.J. Lowers (Newington) was tabbed a third team All-American.
Simon was 7-0 as a sophomore for MCC’s Region 21 Championship team and led all NJCAA Division III pitchers with 1.19 ERA. The Southern Connecticut State University-bound pitcher had 73 strikeouts over 75 2/3 innings while walking just six batters.
“Steve was dominant every start of the season,” MCC Head Coach Chris Strahowski said. “Had we given him a little more support in some of his starts, he’d be 11-0.”
Simon, who was 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA as a freshman in 2008 when MCC made its first of two consecutive trips to the NJCAA Division III World Series, is playing for the Manchester Silkworms in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer.
“Steve had just six walks in 75 plus innings,” Strahowski said of Simon. “That’s unbelievable, and that will be the key to his success in the future.”

Lowers was MCC’s starting catcher as a freshman and had team highs in batting average (.419), runs scored (48) and RBI (43). The 2008 Newington High graduate started 44 games for the 28-19-1 Cougars and threw out seven runners attempting to steal.
“AJ was a quiet leader on the field, helped manage the game by keeping pitchers focused and throwing strikes,” Strahowski said. “He was a very tough out all season long, especially with runners on. He’s a tremendous situational hitter, can hit-and-run when you need him to, as well as drive a ball to the gap. A.J. is a very complete ball player, and plays a solid left field when he’s on his ‘off’ days from behind the plate. I can see him projecting into a guy that some Division I schools will have interest in.”

Simon and Lowers were both named to the NJCAA Division III New England First Team, along with teammates Alan Fredriksson (Torrington), Herb Coggeshall (Coventry) and Vin Sommo (Clinton). MCC also placed three players on the All-New England second team: Dave Alexander (Torrington), Peter Burgio (Bolton) and Dan Nelson (Glastonbury). Nick Melino (Cromwell) was an Honorable Mention.