Legion Baseball star Nick Lorio earns June Athlete of the Month Honor

NEW ORLEANS – Nick Lorio, a star pitcher for the Pedal Valves Cardinals American Legion baseball team, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for June. Monthly award-winners are chosen in voting by the Greater New Orleans Sports Award Selection Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month

In the month of June, Lorio went 3-1 on the mound for the independent Pedal Valves squad. At the plate, he batted .373 with one home run, 12 doubles and 31 RBI in just 26 games. The Pedal Valves, consisting of players from several New Orleans area high schools and coached by Danny Riehm, posted an impressive 20-6 record. Lorio, who will play at Delgado in the fall, starred at St. Charles Catholic in high school, leading the Comets to the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Division II state championship. He batted .333 with 35 RBI and posted a perfect 9-0 record with a 1.95 ERA on the mound.

Also nominated for the June honor were Cade Beloso and Rebekah Markel. Beloso, a John Curtis graduate, had a strong month for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod Baseball League, batting .263 after being a key player in LSU’s run to the NCAA Super Regionals. Markel, meanwhile, capped her outstanding Tulane career by earning Second-Team All-America honors in the pole vault at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, on June 6. During the season, she broke the Green Wave’s indoor and outdoor school records.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Selection Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible. Lorio will be the first of the 2019-20 monthly award winners to be honored next summer at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.