FULL MVC RELEASE

ST. LOUIS – Five University of Evansville baseball players were named to All-Missouri Valley Conference squads in an announcement made by the league office Monday afternoon.  Redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski represented the Purple Aces on the All-MVC First Team.
 
Kaczmarski led Evansville (22-32, 10-10 MVC) with a .346 batting average, .502 slugging percentage, 13 doubles, five home runs, 45 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.  Kaczmarski ranked fifth in the Valley in batting average and runs scored, tied for fifth in stolen bases, sixth in home runs and seventh in slugging percentage.  The redshirt sophomore outfielder is currently on a 32-game on-base streak and put together a 39-game on-base streak earlier this year that dated back to the 2012 season.  The Cary, Ill., native has tallied 20 multi-hit games this season and driven in multiple runs on nine occasions.
 
Seniors Kyle Lloyd, Jake Naumann and Chris Pearson all earned spots on the All-MVC Second Team, while fellow senior Jason Hockemeyer was named an All-MVC Honorable Mention.
 
Lloyd led UE’s pitching staff with a 7-3 record and 2.74 ERA this spring and held opposing hitters to a .225 average.  The senior right-hander racked up 94 strikeouts this season to rank second in the MVC and 14th nationally.  Lloyd tossed two complete games this season and worked a team-high 85.1 innings.  The Carmel, Ind., allowed more than four runs in only one of his 13 starts this season and struck out eight or more six times.  In conference games, Lloyd was 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA.
 
Naumann piloted the Evansville bullpen by posting eight saves and a 1.25 ERA in his 20 relief appearances.  The senior right-hander’s eight saves ranked third in the Valley and tied him for the eighth-most on the Aces’ single-season list.  The Naperville, Ill., native allowed just one earned run in MVC contests this season, while racking up four saves in league play.  On the season, Naumann held opposing hitters to a .195 batting average and surrendered just three extra-base hits in 21.2 innings out of the bullpen.
 
Pearson had a career year for the Aces, as the senior backstop hit .304 this season with seven doubles, four homers and a team-high 32 RBI.  The Greenwood, Ind., native also stole two bases in as many attempts and committed just three errors from his spot behind the plate for a .992 fielding percentage.  Pearson drove in multiple RBI nine times this season in addition to putting together a 15-game hitting streak.
 
Hockemeyer hit .311 for the Aces this season, tallying eight doubles, three triples, a home run and 29 RBI.  The senior outfielder led UE with a .439 on-base percentage, as he coaxed a team-high 37 walks and was hit by a pitch eight times.  Hockemeyer also stole 11 bases in 14 attempts and scored 43 runs.  In league play, the Sanford, Mich., native hit .293 with three doubles, a homer, nine RBI and a team-high six stolen bases.
 
Fifth-seeded Evansville will open MVC Tournament play Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill., at 4:00 p.m. against No. 4 seed Missouri State.