The 2018 SLIAC Baseball All-Conference Team and Award Winners
For the first time in conference history there will be a SLIAC Co-Pitcher of the Year award and for just the third time a Co-Coach of the Year. Jimi Keating and Luke Summers each received Pitcher of the Year honors while Matt Downs and Bill Kurich will both take home a Coach of the Year award. Garrett Wilson was named the SLIAC Player of the Year while Ryan Clavin was named the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year.
Garrett Wilson, a sophomore from Spalding University, is the second Golden Eagle to be named the conference's top player; joining Derek Ferch from 2014. Wilson was the catalyst for the Golden Eagles offense which led the league in scoring this season. Hitting at the top of the order he finished first in the conference in runs scored (35), hits (42), triples (5), stolen bases (15), and batting average (.467). Wilson also added 64 total bases during conference action and finished with a league-leading .515 on-base percentage. He hit safely in all but two conference games while compiling 14 multi-hit games.
His teammate Jimi Keating joins him among award winners as the 2018 SLIAC Co-Pitcher of the Year. Despite missing two weeks of conference play Keating still finished with 4 wins and 44 strikeouts while throwing two complete games. He ranked in the top three of conference pitchers in wins and strikeouts. Keating held opponents to a .254 batting average in over 35 innings pitched while leading the league in strikeouts per game with an 11.10 mark.
Sharing Pitcher of the Year honors is Fontbonne University's Luke Summers. Summers, a sophomore, started seven games in conference play; going 4-2 with a 1.91 earned-run average. He led the conference with 53 strikeouts while throwing three complete games and holding opponents to a .182 average. Summers set a program record for single-season strikeouts and he is the first Griffin to win the Pitcher of the Year award.
Ryan Clavin becomes the second consecutive Blue Jay to take home the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year award. Clavin quickly adjusted to the college game, hitting .346 with 6 home runs and 20 runs batted in during conference play. He led all players during SLIAC contests in home runs and finished with a .442 on-base percentage and a .691 slugging percentage. Clavin also added 22 runs scored with 8 doubles and a triple, finishing 4th in the league with 56 total bases.
Bill Kurich takes home his 7th SLIAC Coach of the Year award after leading the Gorloks to a 20-2 conference record. It marks the first time since the league went to divisional play that a team has reached the 20 win plateau. The Gorloks are ranked #7 in the latest ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Division III poll.
Sharing Coach of the Year honors is Spalding University head coach Matt Downs. This is the second straight year Downs has been recognized as the SLIAC Coach of the Year. He led the Golden Eagles to a 30-10 overall record and a first-place finish in the SLIAC East Division. Earlier this season Spalding notched a win over #1 UMass-Boston.
The SLIAC coaches also honored Principia College with the 2018 Team Sportsmanship Award. For a full list of the 2018 SLIAC All-Conference Teams and award winners see below.
SLIAC | First Team All-Conference | |||
Pos | Player | School | Yr. | |
P | Jimi Keating | Spalding | Sr. | |
P | C.J. Lee | Webster | Sr. | |
P | Luke Summers | Fontbonne | So. | |
C | Travis Ralls | Greenville | Sr. | |
INF | Michael Golich | Fontbonne | Sr. | |
INF | Matt Harper | Spalding | Jr. | |
INF | Clay Kelly | Spalding | Sr. | |
INF | Kyler Kent | Webster | So. | |
OF | Ed Bargmann | Principia | Sr. | |
OF | Nick Bohlmann | Westminster | Sr. | |
OF | Garrett Wilson | Spalding | So. | |
DH | Sam Hodges | Greenville | So. | |
UT | Ryan Clavin | Westminster | Fr. | |
SLIAC | Second Team All-Conference | |||
Pos | Player | School | ||
P | Ian Cassidy | Westminster | Jr. | |
P | Matt Mulhearn | Webster | So. | |
P | Alex Stamos | Principia | Jr. | |
C | Joe Swanson | Webster | So. | |
INF | Tyler Durand | Blackburn | Sr. | |
INF | Eric Meyer | Spalding | So. | |
INF | Blake Strebler | Westminster | Sr. | |
INF | Ben Swords | Webster | Fr. | |
OF | Adam Lovell | Webster | So. | |
OF | Austin Marsh | Greenville | Sr. | |
OF | Mike Wick | Webster | Sr. | |
DH | Ben Dinter | Webster | Sr. | |
UT | Bryce Pearce | Greenville | Jr. | |
SLIAC | Third Team | |||
Pos | Player | School | ||
P | Shane Donovan | Webster | So. | |
P | Brett Lange | Fontbonne | Jr. | |
P | Ryan Meddows | MacMurray | Sr. | |
P | Jack Parisi | Spalding | Fr. | |
C | Brandon Beeler | Westminster | So. | |
INF | Nick Balkenbusch | MacMurray | Sr. | |
INF | Justin Renoud | MacMurray | Sr. | |
INF | Ryan Schocker | Fontbonne | Sr. | |
INF | Klaiton Wolff | Greenville | So. | |
OF | Quenton Brownlee | Spalding | Jr. | |
OF | Sean Green | Eureka | Jr. | |
OF | Gus Purschke | Fontbonne | Jr. | |
DH | Mason Price | Westminster | Sr. | |
UT | Aleq McMullin | Principia | Jr. |
SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team | |
Blackburn | Tyler Durand |
Eureka | Isaiah Taylor |
Fontbonne | Jonathan Hoevelmann |
Greenville | Caleb Watts |
Iowa Wesleyan | Alex Payne |
MacMurray | Trevor Knipe |
Principia | Jake Kearney |
Spalding | Ian Woodall |
Webster | Matt Staker |
Westminster | Zach Eisenreich |