Players Mentioned
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Adams Selected To Honor Sonny Nictakis with No. 8
January 21, 2016 | Baseball
Long-time volunteer assistant Englert honored with Pellagrini Award
BOSTON, Mass. - Boston College head baseball coach Mike Gambino continued a tradition he started his first year at the Heights in 2011 by selecting a current player to wear No. 8 in honor of former player Peter "Sonny" Nictakis. Each season, a player who has battled adversity and represents the best qualities of BC Baseball will wear Sonny's old number.
Gambino announced that junior Johnny Adams will don No. 8 for the 2016 season. He made the announcement at Baseball Night in Boston, held at Fenway Park's State Street Pavilion on Thursday night. He is the first junior to earn the honor.
Sonny was a two-time captain for the Eagles in 1998-99 and lost his courageous battle with Hodgkin's disease in the summer of 2000. Until 2011, his No. 8 had not been worn since 1999. Gambino tabbed senior outfielder Mike Sudol to be the first to wear the number heading into the '11 season.
"Bringing Sonny's No. 8 back is something that is very important to me and one of the first things I wanted to do as head coach," Gambino said. "Wearing his number will be the biggest honor a player can receive in our program. It will be given to one player each year - the one that best shows the qualities that made Sonny such a great teammate, great leader and great friend.
"When we think about what we want in this program and the type of kids we want to represent BC baseball, Sonny was the embodiment of all those qualities: hard worker, great teammate, leader, unselfish, committed to being great at everything he did," Gambino added. "He handled adversity, never complained and held himself and everyone around him to an incredibly high standard. Sonny didn't care whether or not anyone liked him. He had true confidence in himself because of the morals and values instilled in him by his family and he had the integrity to always do the right thing. And that's part of why everyone loved him."
Sonny's two-year captaincy proved what a leader he was. He earned the 1998 Jeff Keith Athletic Leadership Award and the 1996-97 baseball team leadership award. Sonny also served as the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He graduated from BC in 1999 with a double major in English and theology. After graduation, he took a job with the Boston Red Sox. In the summer of 2000, Sonny lost his courageous seven-and-a-half year battle with Hodgkin's disease.
His spirit lives on in the BC baseball community with the Sonny Nictakis Fall World Series that is played every year.
Adams has been a mainstay in the infield for the Eagles for the last two years. As BC's shortstop, he was one of two players on the roster to start all 54 games in 2015. His 168 assists tied for third in BC's record books and he turned 39 double plays, tying for fourth. He led the Eagles with eight sacrifice hits, tied for second with 10 stolen bases, ranked third with 28 runs scored and tied for fourth with 21 RBIs in his sophomore campaign. He crossed the plate to give the Eagles the walk-off win in the 10th inning in the final game of the 2015 season against No. 24 Notre Dame and immediately ran to base path to congratulate senior Nick Colucci, who drove him in, bringing his teammates with him.
The Walpole, Mass., native is a career .233 hitter with 41 runs, 71 hits, 33 RBIs, 37 walks and a .326 on-base percentage in two seasons at The Heights. While playing for the Harwich Mariners, he earned the Cape Cod League's Manny Robello 10th Player Award, given to a player who has shown dedication both on and off the field and all to the game. Adams' father, Jay, played baseball at BC as well under Eddie Pellagrini and captained the team in 1987.
"It is just an unbelievable honor to wear number eight this season," Adams said. "Coach Gambino tells us stories all the time about Sonny, how great of a person he was and what great of a teammate he was. Everything that Sonny represents is something that Coach tries to instill in us and we, as players, take all those things and try to learn from them. I am humbled to know that my teammates voted for me and I couldn't be any prouder to follow in the footsteps of players like Tom Bourdon and Travis Ferrick. I feel lucky enough to play with and look up to my first two years at BC."
"Johnny has tremendous character, a quiet confidence and a work ethic that is through the roof," Gambino said. "He is the type of teammate everyone wants to have. He leads by example and does not take anything for granted. While Johnny might be a little more reserved than Sonny was, he possesses so many of the qualities, values and ethics Sonny did. He is loved and respected by his teammates, just like Sonny."
Steve Englert, BC's volunteer assistant coach for 12 seasons, was presented with the Eddie Pellagrini Award. The award is given to someone who gives back to the BC baseball program. The 1987 BC graduate saw 35 Eagles selected in the Major League draft since he took the position at BC in 2002. His primary responsibilities were working with the catchers and as a hitting coach. He mentored Tony Sanchez, who emerged as the top collegiate catcher in the country in 2009 and was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award. Sanchez was selected fourth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, making him the highest draft pick ever from Boston College and made the Big League roster in 2013.
"Stevie is a great baseball guy, he gave so much to the program and so much to Boston College," Gambino said of Englert. "If you get to spend five minutes with him it's no surprise why he is so loved by our players."
No. 8 Recipients
2011 – Mike Sudol
2012 – Kyle Prohovich
2013 – Matt Paré
2014 – Tom Bourdon
2015 – Travis Ferrick
2016 – Johnny Adams
Gambino announced that junior Johnny Adams will don No. 8 for the 2016 season. He made the announcement at Baseball Night in Boston, held at Fenway Park's State Street Pavilion on Thursday night. He is the first junior to earn the honor.
Sonny was a two-time captain for the Eagles in 1998-99 and lost his courageous battle with Hodgkin's disease in the summer of 2000. Until 2011, his No. 8 had not been worn since 1999. Gambino tabbed senior outfielder Mike Sudol to be the first to wear the number heading into the '11 season.
"Bringing Sonny's No. 8 back is something that is very important to me and one of the first things I wanted to do as head coach," Gambino said. "Wearing his number will be the biggest honor a player can receive in our program. It will be given to one player each year - the one that best shows the qualities that made Sonny such a great teammate, great leader and great friend."When we think about what we want in this program and the type of kids we want to represent BC baseball, Sonny was the embodiment of all those qualities: hard worker, great teammate, leader, unselfish, committed to being great at everything he did," Gambino added. "He handled adversity, never complained and held himself and everyone around him to an incredibly high standard. Sonny didn't care whether or not anyone liked him. He had true confidence in himself because of the morals and values instilled in him by his family and he had the integrity to always do the right thing. And that's part of why everyone loved him."
Sonny's two-year captaincy proved what a leader he was. He earned the 1998 Jeff Keith Athletic Leadership Award and the 1996-97 baseball team leadership award. Sonny also served as the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He graduated from BC in 1999 with a double major in English and theology. After graduation, he took a job with the Boston Red Sox. In the summer of 2000, Sonny lost his courageous seven-and-a-half year battle with Hodgkin's disease.
His spirit lives on in the BC baseball community with the Sonny Nictakis Fall World Series that is played every year.
Adams has been a mainstay in the infield for the Eagles for the last two years. As BC's shortstop, he was one of two players on the roster to start all 54 games in 2015. His 168 assists tied for third in BC's record books and he turned 39 double plays, tying for fourth. He led the Eagles with eight sacrifice hits, tied for second with 10 stolen bases, ranked third with 28 runs scored and tied for fourth with 21 RBIs in his sophomore campaign. He crossed the plate to give the Eagles the walk-off win in the 10th inning in the final game of the 2015 season against No. 24 Notre Dame and immediately ran to base path to congratulate senior Nick Colucci, who drove him in, bringing his teammates with him.
The Walpole, Mass., native is a career .233 hitter with 41 runs, 71 hits, 33 RBIs, 37 walks and a .326 on-base percentage in two seasons at The Heights. While playing for the Harwich Mariners, he earned the Cape Cod League's Manny Robello 10th Player Award, given to a player who has shown dedication both on and off the field and all to the game. Adams' father, Jay, played baseball at BC as well under Eddie Pellagrini and captained the team in 1987.
"It is just an unbelievable honor to wear number eight this season," Adams said. "Coach Gambino tells us stories all the time about Sonny, how great of a person he was and what great of a teammate he was. Everything that Sonny represents is something that Coach tries to instill in us and we, as players, take all those things and try to learn from them. I am humbled to know that my teammates voted for me and I couldn't be any prouder to follow in the footsteps of players like Tom Bourdon and Travis Ferrick. I feel lucky enough to play with and look up to my first two years at BC."
"Johnny has tremendous character, a quiet confidence and a work ethic that is through the roof," Gambino said. "He is the type of teammate everyone wants to have. He leads by example and does not take anything for granted. While Johnny might be a little more reserved than Sonny was, he possesses so many of the qualities, values and ethics Sonny did. He is loved and respected by his teammates, just like Sonny."
Steve Englert, BC's volunteer assistant coach for 12 seasons, was presented with the Eddie Pellagrini Award. The award is given to someone who gives back to the BC baseball program. The 1987 BC graduate saw 35 Eagles selected in the Major League draft since he took the position at BC in 2002. His primary responsibilities were working with the catchers and as a hitting coach. He mentored Tony Sanchez, who emerged as the top collegiate catcher in the country in 2009 and was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award. Sanchez was selected fourth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, making him the highest draft pick ever from Boston College and made the Big League roster in 2013.
"Stevie is a great baseball guy, he gave so much to the program and so much to Boston College," Gambino said of Englert. "If you get to spend five minutes with him it's no surprise why he is so loved by our players."
No. 8 Recipients
2011 – Mike Sudol
2012 – Kyle Prohovich
2013 – Matt Paré
2014 – Tom Bourdon
2015 – Travis Ferrick
2016 – Johnny Adams
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