Packard, Farone, Britt Named All-Americans

HERKIMER, NY — For the second time in as many years, the Herkimer College Baseball team has three players who were named NJCAA Division III All-Americans. The selections, which are made by the NJCAA Division III Baseball Committee, were released on Mon. June 13, at 10:30 a.m.

Sophomore pitchers Ryan Packard and Greg Farone were both named First Team All-Americans.

Packard, who is the former student representative on the Board of Trustees and president of the Student Government Association at Herkimer College, finished with a 10-0 record and six complete games. He also finished the season with a 1.32 ERA; the second-lowest in the country. He accepted a full athletic scholarship to continue his baseball career at the University of Dayton.

Farone, who was a Second Team All-American last season, set the Herkimer College single-season record with 139 strikeouts. He struck out 77.2% of batters he faced this season per nine innings and is the only pitcher in school history to strike out every batter he faced in a single game. He accepted a full athletic scholarship to continue his baseball career at the University of Louisville.

Sophomore outfielder Dakota Britt, who was a Second Team All-American last season, was named a Third Team All-American this season. He finished fourth in the country with 14 home runs and finished top-five in Region III in RBI, runs scored and slugging percentage.

"I'm so proud of my guys," head coach Jason Rathbun said. "They've worked so hard to get to this point in their careers and it's awesome to see them get the individual recognition they deserve."

Britt and Farone are the first players from Herkimer College to earn back-to-back All-American honors since Tyler Phillips '15. They are the first pair of teammates to earn consecutive All-American honors in program history. Herkimer College Baseball has had 24 All-Americans since 2005 when Rathbun took over as head coach. Six of them have come in the last two years.