FULL MVC RELEASE

ST. LOUIS – For the first time in program history, four University of Evansville baseball players were named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, while junior Kyle Freeland was named the MVC Pitcher of the Year and head coach Wes Carroll was selected as the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year.
 
Freeland finished the regular season with a 10-1 record and a 1.62 ERA, including a 6-0 mark in league play.  The junior left-hander ranks second in the nation with 122 strikeouts and a 13.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio, as he has issued just nine walks in his 94.2 innings of work.  Freeland has allowed two or fewer runs in all but one of his starts this season, ranks third on Evansville's single-season strikeout list and fifth on the Aces' all-time strikeout list (276).  The Denver, Colo., native is just the second UE player to earn MVC Pitcher of the Year accolades, joining Ryan Miller, who received the award following the 2000 season.
 
Carroll, who is in his sixth-season as the head coach at Evansville, guided the Aces to just their second Valley regular-season title in school history.  UE's 15-6 record in conference play is the best in program history since the league started the eight-team, three-game series format.  Evansville's only other league title came in 2006, when the Aces won both the MVC regular-season crown and MVC Tournament title.  Evansville was picked to finish sixth in the Valley's preseason poll.
 
Joining Freeland on the All-MVC First Team was senior Jake Mahon and juniors Kevin Kaczmarski and Kyle Pollock.
 
Mahon hit .286 on the season with 12 doubles, a home run and 33 RBI for a .357 slugging percentage.  The senior third baseman led the Aces by scoring 43 runs and was one of four UE players to tally 60 or more hits on the season.  In Valley play, Mahon hit .317 with 18 runs, four doubles and 19 RBI and committed just four errors at the hot corner.  The All-MVC First Team selection is the first career MVC honor for the Plain City, Ohio native.
 
Kaczmarski was one of the top run producers in the MVC this season, as he hit a team-best .322 and led the league with 19 doubles and 50 RBI.  The junior outfielder also racked up 68 hits and slugged an impressive .517 to rank sixth among league hitters.  The Cary, Ill., native hit .395 in conference play with a .531 slugging percentage and .464 on-base percentage.  Kaczmarski was also named to the MVC's All-Defensive Team and was an All-MVC First Team selection last season.
 
Pollock, who hit .306 during the regular season, registered 15 doubles, three triples and four home runs for a .455 slugging percentage as a catcher.  The Clinton, Ohio native is tied for third in the Valley with 48 RBI and hit .281 with 18 RBI in league tilts.  Defensively, Pollock threw out 12 would-be base stealers in 42 attempts.
 
In addition to Evansville's four All-MVC First Team honorees, junior Boomer Synek was named to the All-MVC Second Team and seniors Cole Isom and Sam Johns earned All-MVC Honorable Mention honors.
 
Synek boasts a .285 batting average with nine doubles, two triples, two home runs and 41 RBI, with 21 of them coming in Valley action.  Synek ranks second in the conference with 41 walks and leads the Aces with a .413 on-base percentage.
 
Isom finished the regular-season with a 6-5 record and 3.58 ERA on the mound with 33 strikeouts against 22 walks.  In his seven league starts, the senior southpaw was 5-2 with a 2.76 ERA and held opponents to a .250 batting average.
 
Johns, a native of Bethalto, Ill., is currently tied for the MVC lead with 11 saves, recording six of them in MVC play.  On the season, Johns is 2-2 with a 5.46 ERA and 25 strikeouts in his 29.2 innings on the mound.
 
Top-seeded Evansville will open the MVC Tournament Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., when it takes on No. 8 seed Southern Illinoi at Bob Ward Field in Terre Haute, Ind.