University of Southern Indiana Baseball had nine players receive All-GLVC East Division honors Wednesday night at the GLVC Baseball Awards Barbecue. The All-GLVC-East is selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The nine All-GLVC honorees are one short of the USI record of 10 all-conference players in 2014.
Headlining the All-GLVC East first team for USI is senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana); senor catcher Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana), and senior shortstop Kyle Niemeier (Evansville, Indiana).
Kempf, the only unanimous selection on the All-GLVC East squad, is a three-time first-team All-GLVC East selection. The 2016 preseason All-American and 2015 NCBWA honorable mention All-American is second on the Eagles with a .356 batting average, while tying for second with 40 RBIs. The senior rightfielder, who also has a team-best .516 slugging percentage and 17 doubles this spring, established a new USI all-time record for hits in 2016 and has 281 during his four seasons.
Bertram was selected to the first team after earning second team honors the last two seasons. The senior catcher leads the Eagles with a career-high .357 batting average, tied for second with 40 RBIs, and is third with 15 doubles. A GLVC Player of the Week honoree this season, Bertram also is tied for first on the squad with 13 multi-RBI and 21 multi-hit games this season.
Niemeier, who became USI’s starting shortstop this season, earned his first All-GLVC East honor. He is third on the team with a .349 batting average with 39 runs scored and 31 RBIs. The senior shortstop has started all 50 games and was named the GLVC Player of the Week after hitting a blistering .571 in a 5-0 week that featured a win over the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a four-game sweep of Saint Joseph’s College.
The Screaming Eagles placed six players on the All-GLVC East second team with senior centerfielderHamilton Carr (Evansville, Indiana); senior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell, City, Indiana); sophomore utility player Drake McNamara (Mt. Vernon, Indiana); junior right-handed starter Colin Nowak (Carol Stream, Illinois); junior right-handed starter Devin Williams (Evansville, Indiana); and senior right-handed relief pitcher T.J. Decker (Brazil, Indiana) being honored.
Gunn earns his second All-GLVC East award after battling through a wrist injury to hit .285 with 38 runs scored, 16 doubles, a triple, and a home run in 50 games. The 2016 preseason All-American posted USI longest hitting streak this season, 15 games, midway through the season.
Carr receives his first All-GLVC honor after batting .335 and a team-leading 45 runs scored. He is the Eagles team-leader with 18 stolen bases and ranks third all-time with 78 career thefts.
McNamara, who also earns his first All-GLVC nod in 2016, has hit .314 with 34 RBIs and ranks second on the team with six home runs. The sophomore also started at three different positions this season for the Eagles, seeing time at first base, left field, and designated hitter.
Nowak, Williams, and Decker earn their All-GLVC honors after leading the Eagles on the mound in 2016.
Nowak is tied for the team lead with six victories and has a 6-2 mark with a 2.24 ERA in 11 starts. He has 50 strikeouts in 68.1 innings of work and has held the opposition to a .240 batting average.
Williams has a team-best 1.95 ERA and is posting a 5-3 mark in 12 starts. He also is second on the team with four complete games and two shutouts.
Decker, who earned GLVC Pitcher of the Week after dominating relief work in the four-game sweep of Saint Joseph’s, leads the Eagles with six saves out of the bullpen, while posting a 2-0 mark and a 2.15 ERA in 21 appearances. The opposition is only batting .168 this season against the senior right-hander.
The Eagles start GLVC Tournament action on Thursday at 5 p.m. (CDT) when they play William Jewell College in the first round. The GLVC Tournament runs through Sunday at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
