WALTHAM, Mass. — The Brandeis University baseball team has placed two members on the 2010 All-University Athletic Association team. Junior Tony Deshler of Pepperell, Mass., and rookie Chris Ferro of Walpole, Mass., were both selected to the All-UAA second team.
Deshler, who played 25 games for the Judges at third base and 10 in center field, was one of only two Brandeis players to start all 35 contests. He finished third on the team with a .312 batting average and topped the squad with 44 hits, 33 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples and 17 extra-base hits. Deshler tied for the team lead with 69 total bases and was second with three home runs, seven stolen bases and a .489 slugging percentage. He had 11 multi-hit games on the season, second on the squad, and his seven-game hitting streak – which came in the first seven games of the season - was tied for fourth longest on the Judges.
One of Deshler's top performances of the year came against Clark University, when he went a career-best 4-for-5 at the plate with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in an 11-3 win in the first game of a doubleheader on April 3. He also had three-hit performances against a nationally-ranked Trinity (Texas) team on Brandeis's spring trip to San Antonio on Feb. 20, in an 8-7 loss at Johnson and Wales University on April 15 and in a wild 17-15 win over Bowdoin College in which he hit one of his three home runs on the season. Deshler also had a leadoff home run in a loss to Suffolk University on April 23. A first-team All-UAA selection and the UAA Rookie of the Year in 2008, Deshler is a .323 career hitter with nine home runs and 67 RBI who has never missed a game in his three-year career.
Ferro also starred at two positions for the Judges, starting 22 games in left field and nine at catcher. He led Brandeis in hitting (.355), RBI (25), home runs (5), slugging percentage (.556) and tied for the top spot with Deshler with 44 hits and 69 total bases. Ferro had 11 multi-hit games and five with multiple RBI. He ended the regular season on a 14-game hitting streak, the team's longest of the season.
Ferro's top individual performance came in his home debut on March 18 against Bridgewater State College, when he went 4-for-4 with five RBI, three runs scored a stolen base, a double and a home run as the Judges took a 10-9 victory. He also turned in a 3-for-5 game with four RBI and two runs scored in Brandeis's lone UAA win, a 13-11 win over Washington University on March 16. Ferro's other home runs came in losses to Rhode Island College on April 8, Worcester State on April 13 and UMass-Dartmouth in the team's finale on May 2.
Deshler is a 2007 graduate of Lawrence Academy. He is the son of Albert and Suzanne Deshler, Pepperell, Mass.
Ferro is a 2009 graduate of Walpole High School. He is the son of Charles and Veronica Ferro, Walpole, Mass.
For more information on Brandeis baseball, please visit our web site at http://www.brandeisjudges.com/sports/spring/base.