SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – With the start of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament only a day away, the league has selected three University of Evansville baseball players to its all-conference teams.
Full MVC Awards Release (PDF)
Senior pitcher Connor Strain led the way, earning a spot on the league's first team while junior catcher Travis Tokarek and senior second baseman Trey Hair picked up second team nods.
Strain, who returned for a fifth year after falling victim to an injury just before the start of conference play last season, enjoyed a career campaign this time around. Considered one of the best groundball pitchers in the league, the right-hander out of Shelburn, Ind., posted a 2.44 earned run average, which ranks as the best for a starting pitcher in the MVC this season. Over the course of the season, he enjoyed a 15-inning scoreless streak and also gave up just two runs over five starts in the month of April.
Strain had never previously made an all-conference squad, and he's the first UE pitcher to grab first team honors since former MVC Pitcher of the Year and current Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland.
Meanwhile, Hair was named to the second team for the second consecutive year after hitting safely in all 20 of UE's conference contests on the year. The Firth, Neb., product enters this week's tournament with a .297 batting average and team-best marks in runs (36), runs batted in (40), walks (34) and doubles (21). His .408 on-base percentage is the 10
th-best mark in the MVC.
Tokarek, who has enjoyed a breakout season after splitting time at catcher and designated hitter over the past two seasons, leads the Aces this season with eight home runs, which is seven more than he recorded in his first two seasons combined. Offensively, he's put together a .269 average with 30 scores and 33 RBI, but he's impressed defensively as well, leading the Valley in both pickoffs (6) and runners caught stealing (20).
Regular season champion Missouri State picked up the majority of the accolades on Wednesday, led by Joe Carter Player of the Year winner Jake Burger. MSU also laid claim to Pitcher of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Dan Callahan Coach of the Year honors, which went to Jake Fromson, Doug Still and Keith Guttin, respectively. Bradley's Brendan Dougherty was named Freshman of the Year, and Dallas Baptist shortstop Camden Duzenack earned Defensive Player of the Year.
Overall, MSU paced the league with six players on the first team and three on the second. DBU boasted of four first-teamers and three on the second squad.
The MVC baseball tournament will get under way on Wednesday at 9 a.m. as the Aces will play in the opener against Indiana State. The contest, as well as every game in the event, will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
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