Mears, Breon, W&J Duo Claim Major Awards to Lead DIII South Baseball Awards, All-ECAC Selections
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its 2017 Division III South Baseball Awards and All-ECAC selections.
Trey Mears of Wesley College was voted the ECAC Player of the Year, while Washington & Jefferson College senior Riley Groves earned Pitcher of the Year. Hunter Breon from Penn State Altoona received the ECAC Rookie of the Year honor, with W&J’s Jeff Mountain taking home ECAC Coach of the Year to complete the major awards.
Mears enjoyed a stellar season for the Wolverines, leading the Capital Athletic Conference in batting average (.500) and RBIs (54) in 34 games played. The outfielder scored 56 runs while recording 68 hits, 22 of which went for extra bases. In addition to his success at the plate, the senior did damage on the base paths as well, stealing a league-best 41 bases; the next-closest league player had 17 steals. Mears was a two-time ECAC Player of the Week in 2017, and was recently named to the D3baseball.com All-South Region First Team.
Groves led the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in most pitching categories en route to earning the PAC Pitcher of the Year honor. The senior went 8-2 in 11 starts during the regular season and conference tournament, compiling a 1.94 ERA and 56 strikeouts with three complete games while holding opposing hitters to a .207 average. His ERA and opposing batting average led all PAC pitchers, while his eight wins ranked him second. Adding to his ECAC honors, Groves was recently named to the D3baseball.com All-Mideast Region First Team.
Breon enjoyed a standout rookie campaign for the Lions, ranking among the Penn State Altoona leaders in most offensive categories. In 40 games played, the freshman led the team in hits (51), runs scored (30), RBIs (25) and extra-base hits (14), and also ranked fourth on the team in batting average (.338). Breon was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Newcomer of the Year in addition to earning a spot on the All-AMCC Second Team in recognition of his efforts.
Mountain guided his Presidents to its seventh PAC title in 2017, going 34-10 (21-3 PAC) during the regular season and conference tournament. Washington & Jefferson cracked the top-20 of the national rankings this season, with the 34 wins standing as the third-most in program history. Under Mountain’s guidance, 11 W&J players earned All-PAC recognition, highlighted by Presidents claiming both the PAC Player and PAC Pitcher of the Year awards and five first-team selections.
Player of the Year
Trey Mears – Wesley College, Sr.
Pitcher of the Year
Riley Groves – Washington & Jefferson College, Sr.
Rookie of the Year
Hunter Breon – Penn State Altoona, Fr.
Coach of the Year
Jeff Mountain – Washington & Jefferson College
All-ECAC First Team
Cameron Coons – Alvernia University, Sr.
^Pete Grasso – Salisbury University, Sr.
Jack Barry – Salisbury University, So.
Derek Helbing – Washington & Jefferson College, Sr.
Nick Cardace – Arcadia University, Jr.
Nick Gatins – Washington & Jefferson, Sr.
Trey Mears – Wesley College, Sr.
Bryan Gillen – Arcadia University, So.
Nick Vento – Washington & Jefferson College, Sr.
Joseph Salmen – Westminster College, Jr.
Riley Groves – Washington & Jefferson College, Sr.
^Pete Grasso – Salisbury University, Sr.
Josh Hejka – Johns Hopkins University, So.
All-ECAC Second Team*
Jonathon Keltzli – Waynesburg University, Sr.
Jay Perry – Salisbury University, So.
Tyler Reis – Waynesburg University, So.
Zac Edwards – Lebanon Valley College, Sr.
Mike Smith – Johns Hopkins University, Jr.
Frank Fortunato – Washington & Jefferson University, Sr.
Ryan Orgielewicz – Johns Hopkins University, Sr.
Cody MacNair – Neumann University
Chris Seibert – Wesley College, Jr.
Justin Meekins – Salisbury University, Fr.
Neil Woods – Bethany College, So.
John Catchmark – Alvernia University, So.
Alex Ross – Johns Hopkins University, Jr.
Zach Youngberg – Neumann University, Sr.
^ Selected at both 2B and Pitcher
* Additional players added due to ties
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