Merrick Native Grabs Spot on All-American Baseball Team

Paul Valerio, an outfielder for SUNY College at Old Westbury, was named to the ABCA/Rawlings third-team All-America squad. 

Valerio, a native of Merrick, was a 2012 first-team selection on the ABCA/Rawlings All-New York Region, D3Baseball.com All-New York Region and the Skyline Conference. 

He completed the season as the conference leader in runs scored and stolen bases. He was second in the Skyline in hits, triples, walks, at bats and total plate appearances. He ranked third in the league in total bases. 

Valerio led the nation in stolen bases and stolen bases per game (1.41) while ranking among the nation's leaders in runs per game, runs, triples and triples per game.

On the season, Valerio batted .392 with 37 RBIs, slugging .538 and registered a .492 on base percentage. He carried a season-high 15 game hit-streak to open the season and tallied 17 multi-hit games.

Valerio is a junior at the school.