BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Chris Finwood was named the VaSID Baseball Coach of the Year and four additional Old Dominion players earned All-State honors, as announced by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) on Friday.
In addition to Finwood's Coach of the Year honor, Jared Young and Zach Rutherford were both named First Team All-State, while Vinnie Pasquantino and Adam Bainbridge landed on the All-State Second Team.
Finwood guided Old Dominion to a 37-21 record in 2017, the most single-season wins for ODU since 2006. The Monarchs had their best season yet in Conference USA, finishing second in the C-USA regular season standings with a 19-11 mark. Overall, Finwood guided ODU to a 12-2 record in weekend series, as the squad reached a high ranking of No. 25 in the nation by D1 Baseball, marking the first time ODU had been ranked since 2007.
Individually, the middle infield duo of second baseman Young and shortstop Rutherford were both named First Team All-State. Young, a 15th-round MLB Draft selection by the Chicago Cubs, earned All-American honors after leading the Monarchs in 11 offensive categories, including average (.367), triples (4), home runs (7), runs (57), stolen bases (9) and OPS (1.021). Rutherford, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Rays, hit .332 with 25 doubles and 56 RBIs in 2017 and was also named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in assists with 196, while committing just five errors.
Freshman first baseman Pasquantino and senior pitcher Bainbridge landed on the All-State Second Team. Pasquantino, a Moseley native, was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball News after hitting .321 with five home runs, 17 doubles and 28 RBIs in his inaugural season at ODU. Bainbridge, the Monarchs' left-handed Saturday starter in 2017, went 7-4 with a 3.53 ERA, including two complete games and a shutout.
View the complete VaSID All-State Baseball Team here.
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