Record Number Named D3Baseball.com All-Region

A record number of players from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference have been named to the 2017 D3baseball.com All-Region team. A total of 13 players from five different conference schools earned All-Central Region honors. In addition, a pair of players from the conference took home top individual awards; Josh Fleming was named Pitcher of the Year and Klaiton Wolff was named Rookie of the Year.

To go along with his Central Region Pitcher of the Year award, Josh Fleming also earned First Team All-Region honors. Fleming, a junior at Webster University, was the 2017 SLIAC Pitcher of the Year and was 8-1 on the mound this spring with a 0.67 earned-run average and 115 strikeouts. After missing some time last season Fleming returned to form this year, earning All-Region honors for the second time in his career.

Joining Fleming on the First Team was his teammate Kyle Uhrich. Uhrich, a senior utility player, shined both at the plate and on the mound for the Gorloks. He hit .288 this year with six home runs and 30 runs batted in while also going 7-3 as a pitcher with a 2.29 earned-run average and averaging 13.73 strikeouts per game. This is the third straight year Uhrich has been named All-Central Region.

Fellow Gorloks Conner Wardlaw and Matt Wollnik were named to the Third Team. Wardlaw, a junior third baseman, was second on the team with a .337 batting average; adding a team-high 26 stolen bases and 16 doubles. Wollnik, a senior shortstop, led the Gorloks with a .342 average and added four home runs and 33 runs batted in while tying for the team lead with 34 runs scored.

Also earning First Team honors from the SLIAC was Spalding University pitcher Jimi Keating. Keating, a junior, finished with an 11-2 record, holding a 1.62 earned-run average and striking out 124 batters over 100 innings. He averaged 11.16 strikeouts per game and walked just 10 batters this spring while holding opposing hitters to a .186 batting average.

Spalding's Kam Bruner and Kyle Olliges earned Third Team honors. Bruner, a senior first baseman, hit .386 with seven home runs and 43 runs batted in. Bruner finished with 54 hits including 10 doubles, leading to a .664 slugging percentage. Olliges teamed with Keating to give the Golden Eagles one of the top pitching duos in the nation. Olliges finished 9-3 with a 2.81 earned-run average, striking out 109 batters.

2017 SLIAC Tournament Champion Greenville College had two players named Second Team All-Central Region. Travis Ralls, a junior catcher, hit .384 this year with nine home runs and 45 runs batted in while being named the conference Player of the Year. This marks the second consecutive year Ralls has picked up All-Region honors. Jesse Getz, a junior shortstop, led the team with a .405 average while hitting nine home runs with 42 runs batted in and swiping 17 bases.

Fontbonne University also placed two players on the Second Team and added a third player on the Third Team. Seniors Ethan Boyer, an outfielder, and Ben Greenway, a designated hitter, picked up Second Team honors while Michael Golich, a junior second baseman, was named Third Team. Greenway hit .389 with five home runs and 41 runs batted win while earning his second straight All-Region team honors. Boyer led the Griffins with a .390 average, hitting six home runs with 38 runs batted in and stealing 23 bases while Golich finished with a .375 average and 15 runs batted in with 20 stolen bases.

Westminster College's Tanner Branneky earned Second Team honors for the Blue Jays. Branneky, a senior outfielder, capped his career by hitting .414 with nine home runs and 35 runs batted in; finishing as the Blue Jays career leader in home runs. This marks his second consecutive All-Region honor.

This marks the third consecutive year for an increase in representatives from the SLIAC on the All-Region team, surpassing last year's previous high of 10 players.

D3baseball.com is a site dedicated to coverage of NCAA Division III Baseball. They began announcing All-Region teams in 2012. For a complete list of the 2017 D3baseball.com All-Central Region team click HERE