Third Baseman Perry ’10 Named Patriot League Player of the Year

After breaking two school records and leading the league in many areas this season, Holy Cross third baseman Matt Perry ’10 was named 2009 Patriot League Baseball Player of the Year. Matt is the third player in school history to receive this honor, voted upon by coaches in the league.

Matt finished first in the league with 77 hits this season and second with a .423 batting average and .491 on base percentage. He also ranked third with 114 total bases and a .626 slugging percentage. Not surprisingly, these exceptional statistics landed him a spot on the All-Patriot League first team for the first time in his career. Matt, who started in all 49, was also awarded the 2009 Hop Riopel Award, given by Holy Cross to the baseball team’s most valuable player.

Success in Holy Cross athletics runs in the Perry family. Matt Perry’s father, Ronald K. Perry ’80, played basketball and was an excellent baseball player for the Crusaders. Ron set the school record for both most hits (66) and bases (99) in a regular season at Holy Cross in 1978. These notable records remained untouched until his son stepped up to plate and earned 75 hits and 111 bases before completing the regular season. Matt Perry’s grandfather, Ronald S. Perry, was also a standout baseball and basketball player at Holy Cross. He went on to become the athletic director for the Crusaders for nearly 30 years.

Despite the competitive nature of sports, the Perry family has been nothing but supportive of each other’s accomplishments. His father helped instill the good work ethic that led Matt to be so prepared for the year, spending extra time in the weight room and batting cages during the off-season.

“Each of us had our time to be the best we could be, and when it was over, the focus moved on to the next generation,” said Matt. “Now that I am at Holy Cross, I feel no pressure to be like my father or grandfather, but their success has definitely motivated me to be the best player I can.”

Matt's parents were at nearly every game this season, and his grandparents and sisters made an impressive effort to attend many of them, as well. Seeing all the time that his family invested in him provided extra motivation for Matt to work harder throughout the year.

This sense of companionship and support has carried over to the way that Matt interacts with his teammates. Though honored to receive such a meaningful award, Matt humbly noted that his personal awards and statistics were not the most important aspect of the season.

“Those are things that I don’t reflect on during the year because our mindset as a team is to go out and do whatever needs to be done to get a win, with the ultimate goal being a team championship,” he said.

Matt will return to play for the Crusaders next year as a senior. The team finished the season with a winning in-league record, making it to the semifinals Patriot League Tournament.

By Mary Moczula ’11

Pictured: Matt Perry '10

Related Information:

• Matt Perry Earns Second Team All-New England Honors • Read a profile of Matt Perry in Holy Cross Magazine • Matt Perry Named Patriot League Player Of The Year