WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Eastern Connecticut State University senior baseball catcher Hank Penders (Wethersfield) has been named to compete in the 51^st Annual NEIBA Joe Walsh All-Star Game Monday at 6 p.m. at Fitton Field on the campus of the College of Holy Cross. The annual game features a combined team of Division I, II and III standouts from around the region.
 
The all-star game, which formerly pitted Division I stars against a combined team of Division II and III standouts, was won last year by Team Black, which defeated Team Red, 8-3, at Fitton Field. In that game, Team Black erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring eight runs in the top of the eighth inning, highlighted by Bryant University catcher Jacob Gaudreau's grand slam.
A four-year player and three-year starter, Penders was earlier this month named to the ABCA All-Region II first team and as a Little East Conference first-team all-star for the third straight year.
 
Batting in the heart of the Eastern order, Penders (.361) started all 40 games in which he appeared for the 25-15-1 Warriors, leading the team with four triples, sharing the team lead with 57 hits, and finishing second in extra-base hits (19), doubles (9), home runs (6) and RBI (39). Defensively, he topped the club with 289 putouts and threw out 37 percent (14 of 38) of baserunners attempting to steal.
 
A third-team D3baseball.com pre-season All-America and this year's only captain, Penders  reached safely in 35 games and hit safely in 33 during the season, with a team-high 17 multi-hit games. He began the season with an eight-game hitting streak (the first of his two eight-game hitting streaks) and ended his career by hitting in his final seven games, batting .482 (13-for-27) with six RBI in that final stretch. In his final game against NCAA qualifier University of Southern Maine in the LEC tournament, Penders reached in all four of his plate appearances with three hits and a walk. Penders ranked among the LEC Top 10 in five major categories, including third in putouts and chances (321) and third in triples.
 
In his 126-game career, Penders batted .347 with 16 home runs, 113 RBI, 245 total bases and  55 extra-base hits. He concluded his career tied for seventh all-time in program history in fielding percentage (.990) and eighth in putouts (944) and chances (1,015).
 
Prior to the game, the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) will present a number of its annual awards. Among those being recognized are former Eastern Hall of Fame coach Bill Holowaty, one of two recipients of this year's Andy Baylock Distinguished Service Award. The award has been presented annually since 1978 to individuals who have significantly contributed to the betterment of college baseball in the New England region. It is named after 2002 recipient, Andy Baylock, who  served as UConn's head baseball coach for nearly 40 years and recently completed his ninth year as a volunteer assistant coach and special advisor under Eastern head coach Mike Odenwaelder.
 
In 45 seasons from 1969-2013, Holowaty won 1,404 games – the most by a college coach in any sport at any level in New England history – and claimed four Division III national championships. Prominent in the formation and development of NEIBA throughout his coaching career, Holowaty was inducted into the NEIBA Hall of Fame in 2018.s
 
Also receiving the Baylock Award Monday is former Amherst College head coach Bill Thurston, a former long-time colleague of Holowaty's and Eastern head coach Odenwaelder's coach as a player with the Mammoths. Northeastern head coach Mike Glavine won the award a year ago after leading the Huskies to 49 wins and a berth in the NCAA Division I Tallahassee Regional. Jim Penders, University of Connecticut head coach and father of Eastern's Hank, was presented with the award in 2023 after leading the Huskies to 44 wins and into the NCAA Gainesville Regional.