24 Vincent DiFazio

He was recruited to replace All-American catcher Kody Valverde, but a series of injuries will force him to miss the 2007 season.  DiFazio suffered a knee injury this summer which forced him to miss fall drills.  Then, he suffered a viral nerve disorder (limits strength and mobility) that could casue him to miss the season.

SUMMER (2006):

DiFazio spent the summer playing for the Maryland Orioles in the Cal Ripken, Sr., Collegiate League
He led the Orioles to the 2006 AAABA World Championship in Johnstown, Penn., the team’s third straight AAABA championship
Played on same summer league team with Kyle Moore and Ryan Rhoden
In 22 games for Youse’s Orioles, DiFazio batted .400 (28-for-70) to win the Ripken Summer League batting title
He also added four doubles, three triples, two home runs and 17 RBI for the Orioles
DiFazio also paced the league in slugging percentage (.629) and on-base percentage (.494) this summer

INDIAN RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2006):

Transferred to Indian River CC after spending his   freshman season at the University of Connecticut
DiFazio played one season at Indian River for coach Mike Easom
Indian River posted a 22-11 record in his lone season
He played 20 games and batted .254 (16-for-63) and led the team three home runs and 13 RBI
DiFazio also scored 15 runs and added five doubles and one triple

UCONN (2005):

DiFazio spent his freshman season at the University of Connecticut, where he played 42 games for coach Jim Penders
He batted .306 (38-for-124) with one home run and 15 RBI
In Big East play, DiFazio hit .306 (19-for-62) with eight RBI in 20 league games
In the summer of 2005, he was named Baseball America’s Top Prospect in the Atlantic Collegiate League
He batted .331 in leading Quakertown to the best record in the league and the 2005 ACL championship
He led the the ACL with 42 RBI and ranked second in the league in hits, runs scored and doubles

PREP:

A 2004 graduate of the Pennington School in Pennington, N.J., where he was a four-year baseball letterman for coach Jerry Russo
Led his team to conference championship and was state runner-up after his senior year
Named team captain for his senior season
A two-time all-state and all-prep honoree (junior and senior)
Named team MVP following his junior season
Also lettered twice in football

PERSONAL:

Full name is Vincent Francis DiFazio
Parents are Salvatore and Arline DiFazio
He has two sisters, Francesca and Angela
His father played football at Rutgers
His uncle, Vin DiFazio, who was his first baseball coach, was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy at the World Trade Center
BORN: May 15, 1986

University of Alabama Athletics

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