BOSTON – Nine members of the UMass Lowell baseball team have been earned America East All-Conference honors, as announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Graduate student Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) was named the America East All-Conference First Team third baseman. Gallagher hit .278 with a slugging percentage of .370 this season. He tallied 45 runs scored, 45 hits, seven doubles, one triple and two home runs. The veteran also drew 27 walks and went 16-21 on stolen base attempts. This is Gallagher's second all-conference award after earning all-rookie honors his freshman year.
 
Graduate student Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) was one of four starting pitchers to earn America East All-Conference Second Team honors. Senior Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.), junior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) and sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) were also named to the All-Conference Second Team.
 
Becker has a team-best 4.11 ERA and a 4-3 record with 14 appearances this season. He's thrown one complete game and has one save on the year. His 43 strikeouts are second on the team. The graduate student earns his second all-conference first team honors and his third major conference award.
 
Ryan Proto hit .270 with 29 runs and 44 hits, including 14 doubles, with 23 RBIs. The backstop has been solid all season with 232 putouts and 12 runners caught stealing for a .988 field percentage. This is Proto's first major conference award.
 
Genther leads the team hitting .322 with 39 runs and 55 hits to go with a team-best 43 RBIs. He has a team-high eight home runs with 13 doubles and one triple. He has a slugging percentage of .550 with nine stolen bases. This is Genther's first major conference award.
 
Jacob Humphrey has had a great sophomore season, hitting .319 with a slugging percentage of .510. He leads the River Hawks with 52 runs, 65 hits, 104 total bases with league-high five triples. Humphrey has also hit seven home runs and tallied eight doubles. His 32 stolen bases lead the team and is tied for second in the league. This is Humphrey's second major conference award.
 
A trio of River Hawks earned their first all-conference honors as freshmen Nick DiRito (Plymouth, Mass.), Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.) and Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) were named to the America East All-Rookie Team.
 
DiRito had a 3-3 record in 11 appearances in his rookie campaign. He had an ERA of 7.26 with 23 strikeouts. Jacob Jette had a 7.11 ERA and a 1-3 record with two saves on the season. Jette struck out 24 hitters and threw 31.2 innings. Simes held a 2-3 record with a 6.39 ERA. He made 23 appearances for the River Hawks in his rookie season with 18 strikeouts in 31.0 innings.
 
Due to their efforts in the classroom, graduate students Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) and Joshua Becker earned All-Academic Team honors. Becker is studying engineering management with a 3.73 GPA and Siracusa is studying business administration with a 3.96 GPA.