Mike Oliveira is Golden!

Mike Oliveira

(Kansas City, MO) – It was announced today by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that Fisher College infielder, Michael Oliveira has been named the 2011 Rawlings – NAIA Baseball Gold Glove Award recipient as a second basemen.

The Tewksbury, Massachusetts native had an outstanding senior season in 2011 for the Falcons. In 166 chances, he only committed two errors (61 putouts, 103 assists, 2 errors) which results in a .988 fielding percentage. In the 43 games that Oliveira played for Fisher College this past spring, his two errors came in just one game.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be awarded the Gold Glove.” said Oliveira when reached by phone. “I worked so hard on my defense, it is what I take pride in. This is something that I’ll never forget.”

Oliveira becomes the first Fisher Baseball student-athlete and first student-athlete from the Sunrise Conference to be awarded the National Gold Glove.

“Mikey deserves it.” said Fisher College Head Baseball Coach Scott Dulin. “This past season he played outstanding defense at second base. He made all of the routine plays and was able to turn countless double plays. He even made some plays that made your jaw drop.”

Oliveira’s teammates are also very proud of his accomplishment.

“He was Mr. Automatic.” said pitcher Kevin Michael, who also graduated this past spring. “I knew that if I could get the batter to hit a ground ball to the right side that he was going to be out.”

Oliveira, who recently graduated with his Bachelor’s in Management, will continue to play baseball in a local amateur summer league in Boston. He is a member of the Malden Bulldogs in the Yawkey Baseball League.

The NAIA began awarding the student-athletes with Gold Gloves back in 2007. The award is given to the student-athlete at each position based on their superior individual fielding performances throughout the season. The award is selected by the NAIA-American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America Selection Committee. This is the fifth year in which the NAIA Gold Glove Team has been chosen.