Trailblazer baseball trio earns All-Conference honors

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VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University sophomores Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.), Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) and Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) each picked up some individual honors for this past season.

Burdette would be named second team All-Conference, as well as earning a spot on the All-Region 24 team, while Evans earned second team All-Conference honors for the second year in a row and Colin Long was named to the Region 24 Rawlings Gold Glove team for the second time.

Burdette continually set the tone early and often for the VU baseball team, serving as the Trailblazers leadoff hitter and leading the Blazers this season with an outstanding .408 batting average and a team-high 75 hits and scoring a team-leading 59 runs this past season.

Burdette always seemed to find a way to get on base, in 226 plate appearances this season, Burdette only struck out 15 times and drew 28 walks, while hitting nine doubles, three triples and driving in 25 RBIs.

Once Burdette got on base he would still find ways to cause problems for the opposing defense, stealing 21 bases on the season.

Burdette closed out his VU career with 132 career hits, 51 RBIs, 45 walks, 37 stolen bases and a .373 batting average over two seasons.

Colton Evans finished off his sophomore season by earning a spot on the second-team All-Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) team for the second time in his VU career.

Evans split time this season between playing third base and in the outfield and certainly left an impression on several MWAC conference pitchers.

Evans led the Trailblazers this season with seven home runs, 50 RBIs, 13 doubles and four triples, while batting .345 for the season and having a team-high .591 slugging percentage.

Evans’s 140 hits at Vincennes University is good for fourth all-time in school history.

Evans finished his VU baseball career with 30 doubles, 10 home runs, 92 RBIs, eight triples, 89 runs scored and a .380 batting average.

Evans has verbally committed to play next season at NAIA Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tenn.

The Vincennes regular season honorees is rounded out by VU’s new All-Time hits leader Colin Long, who was named to the NJCAA Region 24 Division II Rawling Gold Glove team for the second year in a row.

Long was a pitcher’s best friend out in center field this season for the Trailblazers, finishing the season with a stellar .991 fielding percentage, recording 115 defensive putouts and only committing one error in 55 games this season.

Offensively, Long obviously held his own as well, setting a new Vincennes University school record for hits in a career this season with 173. Long finished the season with 51 hits, 12 doubles, 23 RBIs and a .307 batting average.

Long closed out his three-year Trailblazer career with 173 hits, 27 doubles, 10 triples, four home runs, 63 RBIs, 57 walks, 24 stolen bases and a .337 batting average.

Long has verbally committed to playing next season at Indiana University-Southeast in New Albany.

This trio guided the Trailblazers to a 25-33 record this past season, with a 13-19 record in MWAC Conference play and earned VU a fourth-consecutive trip to the MWAC Conference baseball tournament.

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to congratulate Ethan Burdette, Colton Evans and Colin Long on their tremendous accomplishments this season and wishes them good luck as they continue their baseball career next season.

2023 NJCAA Division II All-Region 24 Baseball team

Pitchers

Alex Pipes – Parkland

Porter Conn – Lincoln Land

Jason Buhl – Heartland

Catcher

Ben Hartl – Heartland

Designated Hitter

Josh Heyder – Illinois Central

Infielders

Sam Antonacci – Heartland

Austin Gomm – Parkland

ETHAN BURDETTE – VINCENNES

Beau Durbin – Illinois Central

Outfielders

Payton Mansfield – John Wood

Corey Boyette – Heartland

Chase Becker – Parkland

Player of the Year – Sam Antonacci – Heartland

NJCAA Region 24 Division II Rawlings Gold Glove Team

Outfielders

COLIN LONG – VINCENNES

Payton Mansfield – John Wood

Chase Becker – Parkland

Infielders

Ben Stedman – Lewis & Clark

Tyler Bickers – John Wood

Garrett Myers – John Wood

2023 MWAC All-Conference Teams

First Team

Pitchers

Alex Pipes – Parkland

Jason Buhl – Heartland

Porter Conn – Lincoln Land

Infielders

Sam Antonacci – Heartland

Austin Gomm – Parkland

Beau Durbin – Illinois Central

Josh Heyder – Illinois Central

Outfielders

Payton Mansfield – John Wood

Corey Boyette – Heartland

Chase Becker – Parkland

Catcher

Ben Hartl – Heartland

SECOND TEAM

Pitchers

Mitch Dye – Lincoln Land

Maede Johnson – Heartland

Luke Wright – Heartland

Infielders

ETHAN BURDETTE – VINCENNES

Gallien Coupet – Heartland

Jackson Blemler – Parkland

Outfielders

COLTON EVANS – VINCENNES

Kody Morton – Danville Area

Gavin Huebner – Lewis & Clark

Gant Pohlman – Lincoln Land

Honorable Mention

Logan Munroe – John Wood

Andrew Watts – Lewis & Clark

Adam Lindsey – Lincoln Land

Gage Burdick – Illinois Central

Jacyk Uehling – Heartland

Jake Radosevich – Lewis & Clark

Freshman of the Year – Payton Mansfield – John Wood

Player of the Year – Sam Antonacci – Heartland

Pitcher of the Year – Alex Pipes – Parkland

Coach of the Year – Chris Razo – Heartland