Michael Volpe, who graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., May 28, and is a resident of Garden City, earned his fourth varsity letter in baseball at the college this past spring, head coach Peter Kostacopoulos announced. In addition, Volpe was named to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) all-star second team and received the MacNaughten Award as the member of the Wesleyan baseball team who demonstrated outstanding ability.

After playing shortstop, third base or second base much of his Wesleyan career, Volpe ended his time on the diamond as the Cardinals' starter at first base. Playing in each of the team's 33 games with 31 starts, Volpe led the team in batting with a .413 average as he lashed 50 hits, including nine doubles, a triple and a home run, in 121 at-bats. His average ranked fifth among players in the NESCAC and his 50 hits was the third-highest single-season figure (tied with three others) in Wesleyan team history. He also scored 29 runs (second on the team) and drove in a team-leading 35 runs. He stole eight bases in 11 attempts and fielded at a .977 clip with 146 putouts, 67 assists and five errors.

Over his four years with the team, Volpe played in 107 games with 87 starts. He had 126 career hits, which ranks 11th all-time at the college. His career average was a solid .371, the sixth-highest average on record at the university.

Wesleyan came through with a 19-14 record during the 2000 season, its 15th winning mark in the last 16 years. The Cardinals posted a lofty .338 team batting average (compared with the opponents' .271 figure). The team also fielded at a fine .951 percentage. Wesleyan averaged 8.3 runs a game while cracking into double-digit scoring in 11 of its 33 contests, including a modern team record 30-run output during a 30-0 win over Wentworth Institute. The 1998 Cardinals had beaten New Jersey Tech 25-9 for the previous modern-day team high. Two teams prior to 1900 had surpassed 30 runs in a game as Wesleyan has been playing baseball since 1865. With a 4.52 team ERA, Wesleyan limited eight of its 33 votes to two runs or less with three shutouts.

The son of Anthony and Dolores Volpe of Garden City, Volpe is a 1996 graduate of Garden City High School where he was a three-time letterwinner, all-conference and all-county honoree in baseball. He also won three varsity letters in ice hockey and was a member of the 1995 conference championship hockey team.

At Wesleyan, Volpe majored in government and was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.