The Coastal Plain League announced today that Phil Cerreto of the Martinsville Mustangs (photo courtesy of Kenny Webster) has been named the 2009 Rawlings CPL Offensive Player of the Year.

A junior from Longwood and Midlothian, Va., Cerreto was a constant offensive force for the Mustangs in 2009. He started 51-of-53 games played for Martinsville and finished with an impressive .351 batting average – third highest in the league. Cerreto also finished first in the CPL with 72 hits, which is good for sixth all-time in a single season in league history. He also finished among the league leaders on the season in doubles (16 - tied for second), triples (four - tied for fourth) and home runs (eight – fifth)

More impressive, however, is that he had an eye-opening 120 total bases, which 19 better than anyone else in the league, and just one shy of the CPL record of 121 shared by Jason Dubois (Rocky Mount, 1998) and Kevin Mahoney (Forest City, 2008).

Cerreto also finished tied for fourth in the league with 40 RBIs, while scoring 33; and tacked on a .585 slugging percentage to go with a .396 on-base percentage. Opposing pitchers walked him 16 times and Cerreto was a perfect 12-of-12 in stolen bases.

In addition to his total bases and hits being ranked among the Top 10 single season bests in Coastal Plain League history, Cerreto’s slugging percentage of .585 was good enough for ninth place.

While the Mustangs finished with a 22-34 record, Cerreto turned in a team-MVP performance almost nightly. He was selected as a Coastal Plain League All-Star, starting at first base for the 2009 CPL National All-Star squad in Wilmington, N.C. During the All-Star Fan Fest the night before, Cerreto connected on eight home runs to win the 2009 CPL All-Star Home Run Derby crown.

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league, and has just completed its 13th season. Featuring 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, the CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with wooden bats during the summer months. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at http://www.coastalplain.com.