2010: First Team All-OVC… OVC Pitcher of the Week (April 5)… Recchia pitched in 22 games, starting 13 times and making nine relief appearances… signed a free agent contract with the New York Yankees organization after the MLB First-Year Player Draft… earned First Team All-OVC honors as a starting pitcher for the second year in a row, becoming the first EIU pitcher in program history to be a back-to-back First Team all-conference performer… led the OVC in total strikeouts and had the top batting average against (.196) in conference play… teamed with Josh Mueller to post the highest strikeout total (165) among teammates in program history… with six victories and two saves, he played a significant role in eight of EIU’s 18 victories… ranked second in the OVC with a 2.39 ERA in conference play, surrendering only 13 earned runs in a league-high 49 innings pitched… also gave up only eight extra-base hits in OVC play… limited right-handed hitters to a .227 batting average against… put together a streak of 17 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings from March 18 through April 2… was 3-1 with a save and a 2.48 ERA in his seven appearances at Coaches Stadium… gave up only one home run in 29 innings pitched at home… earned victories in his starts against South Florida, Austin Peay, UT Martin and Jacksonville State… earned wins in relief against Chicago State and Southeast Missouri at the OVC Tournament… closed out OVC wins against Murray State and SEMO to post saves… struck out a season-high nine in his wins against UTM and JSU… also fanned eight over 5 2/3 innings in his win at South Florida… struck out seven in each of his first four OVC starts… worked 7 1/3 innings of one-hit ball in the series-opening shutout victory against Austin Peay to earned OVC Pitcher of the Week honors… also pitched seven scoreless innings in the OVC opener at Eastern Kentucky, settling for a no decision in the 12-inning affair… pitched his first collegiate nine-inning complete game in the series finale against UT Martin… worked 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in the OVC Tournament win against Southeast Missouri, escaping a bases loaded jam in the seventh inning… earned his first collegiate save with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in the nightcap of the Murray State doubleheader... OVC Top 10 Rankings: first in total strikeouts, seventh in victories, third in strikeouts per nine innings (9.10) and batting average against… EIU Top 10 Rankings: third in strikeouts and fourth in innings pitched… EIU All-Time Rankings: ninth in strikeouts.
2009: First Team All-OVC… Second Team ABCA All-Mideast Region... College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Watch List… OVC Pitcher of the Week (March 16)… Recchia pitched in 13 games and started 12 times… made his lone relief appearance in the midweek home game against Bradley… on three occasions the weekend game he was scheduled to pitch was canceled due to inclement weather so he started a pair of midweek contests… Eastern won 10 of the 12 games he started… posted the lowest ERA (3.02) of any EIU pitcher in the OVC era (1997-present) to start at least 10 games… became the first EIU pitcher to earn all-conference honors since 2002 and the first since 1999 to be a First Team All-OVC selection… one of 50 pitchers nationally to be named to the initial CBF Pitcher of the Year Watch List… won each of his first six weekend starts… pitched at least six innings and gave up no more than one earned run in each of his first five weekend starts… was tough on left-handed batters (.214) and all hitters with runners on (.204)… his 2.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio was tops among EIU starters… went 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA and .221 average against in his five true road game starts… surrendered only three earned runs while striking out 30 over 31 innings in March… struck out a career-high 10 and did not issue a walk over eight innings in his season-opening start at Southeastern Louisiana… beat nationally-ranked Oklahoma in the championship game of the South Florida Tournament March 15 in Tampa, giving up only one earned run on four hits in six innings… pitched a two-hit shutout in a win against Tennessee Tech, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning… struck out nine in each of his first two OVC starts, win against Morehead State and Tech… gave up only one run (on a solo homer) and struck out seven through seven innings in a win against Milwaukee… battled back after giving up early runs to earn wins against SIU Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri… Top 100 National Rankings: 38th in fewest hits allowed per nine innings and 45th in ERA… Top 10 OVC Rankings: second in ERA and batting average against, fourth in wins and eighth in strikeouts… EIU Single-Season Rankings: sixth in wins.
2008: Recchia pitched in 15 games and started seven times… posted victories in midweek games against Chicago State and Illinois after allowing only one earned run over four innings… struck out 17 over 17 innings in OVC play… was the starting pitcher in arguably EIU’s biggest win of the year, the OVC Tournament victory against regular-season champ Jacksonville State… worked 4 1/3 innings of three-run ball that night, striking out four while not issuing a walk… worked five innings of one-run ball in his first collegiate start, an extra-inning victory at Illinois State… started regular-season OVC games against Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky (both series finales)… gave up just three hits over four innings to an accomplished Illinois lineup in front of a big crowd in Mattoon… after uncorking three wild pitches against the first batter he faced in game two of the Murray State series, regrouped and worked 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball… pitched six innings of two-run relief in the nightcap of the Austin Peay doubleheader… struck out five over 3 1/3 innings as the starter in the regular-season finale at EKU.
HIGH SCHOOL: He was a four-year letter-winner, playing three year at the varsity level, for coach Frank DiFoggio… also lettered twice in basketball… set school records for home runs, RBIs and strikeouts as a senior… Illinois Prep Baseball Report Top 50 prospect… three-time All-South Suburban Conference honoree… twice earned All-Area recognition from the Daily Southtown and Star Newspapers… Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Northern Illinois… two-time team captain as an upperclassman… also played for the Illinois Sparks summer team.
PERSONAL: No. 1 sports highlight was breaking Shepard’s single-season strikeouts record… his parents have been a major influence on his sports career because "they have encouraged me to always work hard and don't take anything for granted"… most admires Ken Griffey Jr. because "he loves the game and is always playing it the right way"... his relatives Lucky Sullivan and Mike Redden played for the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively… son of Louis and Sharon Recchia… MAJOR: Kinesiology and Sports Studies (with a Teacher's Certification).
