Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Alex Cillo Earns Spot on NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List
1/31/2012 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 31, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior right-hander Alex Cillo (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) on Tuesday was named to the initial watch list for the eighth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, which is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
Forty-five players earned spots on the list, which will be pared down in mid-April before five finalists are named on June 6. Cillo was one of three Patriot League relievers recognized. He was joined by Army's Kevin McKague and Navy's Joel Rinehart. The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced during the 2012 College World Series.
A Second Team All-Patriot League selection and a member of the Patriot League All-Tournament Team, Cillo had an outstanding junior campaign last spring. He posted a 4-1 record with a 1.96 ERA in 46.0 innings, all in relief. He yielded just two earned runs over his final 16 appearances, a span of 43.1 innings. Cillo's ERA against Patriot League opponents was a miniscule 0.56 and he put together a 24-inning streak without allowing an earned run.
A versatile reliever, Cillo pitched at least three innings in six of his final seven appearances, including an impressive eight-plus scoreless innings in a 1-0 16-inning victory over top-seeded Navy in game one of the Patriot League Semifinal Series. He was honored with a spot on the CB360 Weekly Honor Roll after that performance.
Despite pitching out of the bullpen, Cillo was second on the Bison with a career-high 41 strikeouts in 2011.
Cillo and his Bucknell teammates are just over two weeks from their season opener, a Feb. 18 noon contest against La Salle at Davidson. The Bison also play Niagara that evening.
