Seven Bellarmine University baseball players reaped All-Great Lakes Valley Conference accolades, the league announced Wednesday night.
Sophomore left-hander Eddie Mathis, junior catcher Brady Pfaadt and junior left-hander Hunter Spencer all garnered first-team All-GLVC recognition, while junior shortstop Drew Greenwood, junior outfielder Griffin Neuer, sophomore outfielder Alex Phillips and sophomore designated hitter Zac Wiley received second-team notice.
Mathis missed last season after taking a medical redshirt but picked up right where he left off from a second-team All-GLVC freshman campaign. The native of Pewee Valley, Kentucky, is 8-3 with a 2.81 ERA over 13 starts. The South Oldham (Ky.) High School product has tossed four complete games and, over one stretch, earned the win in eight-straight outings. The southpaw has struck out 64 against 12 walks in 86.1 innings pitched.
Pfaadt is leading Bellarmine in slugging percentage (.675) and on-base percentage (.529) while ranking second in batting average (.364) and homers (seven). The Louisville native was batting .212 on March 25 and one torrid month later raised his average to .403. The Trinity (Ky.) High School graduate homered in four-consecutive games during that sizzling stretch. A first-time All-GLVC member, Pfaadt has committed a single error this season behind the plate.
Spencer received first-team All-GLVC honors for the second season in a row. The native of Scottsburg, Indiana, is 7-4 with a 3.10 ERA and six complete games. The 2016 GLVC Pitcher of the Year has struck out 67 against 15 walks in 81.1 innings pitched. The southpaw is 4-0 over his last six starts, allowing three earned runs or less in every outing.
Greenwood, Neuer, Phillips and Wiley each earned All-GLVC acknowledgement for the first time. Greenwood has collected a team-high 71 hits and is batting .357 with eight doubles, three triples, 24 RBIs and 38 runs scored. The Pewee Valley, Kentucky, native produced 15 multi-hit games in conference play and most astonishingly put together a 24-game errorless streak at shortstop, where the South Oldham (Ky.) High School product committed only six errors in 50 games.
Neuer is batting .279 with four homers, nine doubles, 29 RBIs and 36 runs scored. The native of Lexington, Kentucky, leads Bellarmine in walks with 25 and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases with eight.
Phillips is batting .351 with 23 runs scored. The Louisville native is tied for the team lead in steals with eight. The Butler (Ky.) High School product is also in the starting rotation, posting a 5-0 record with two complete games in 12 starts.
Wiley tops Bellarmine in batting average (.382) and homers (eight) and is tied for the team lead in doubles (11). The native of Shelbyville, Kentucky, ranks second on the Knights in RBIs (37), slugging percentage (.654) and on-base percentage (.466). The Collins (Ky.) High School product had a seven-RBI game against McKendree on March 31 that included a grand slam.
Drury’s Ryan Colombo was named GLVC Player of the Year, Southern Indiana’s Lucas Barnett was tabbed Pitcher of the Year, Missouri S&T’s Matt Knickerbocker was recognized as Freshman of the Year and Saint Joseph’s Rick O’Dette was voted Coach of the Year.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.
2017 BASEBALL ALL-GLVC TEAMS & POSTSEASON HONORS
Player of the Year
Ryan Colombo, Sr., UT, DU
Pitcher of the Year
Lucas Barnett, Sr., SP, USI
Freshman of the Year
Matt Knickerbocker, Fr., 2B, S&T
Coach of the Year
Rick O’Dette, SJC
FIRST TEAM ALL-GLVC – EAST DIVISION
Eddie Mathis, So., SP, BU
Brady Pfaadt, Jr., C, BU
Hunter Spencer, Jr., SP, BU
Trey Hannam, Sr., OF, UIS
Michael Rothmund, Jr., 1B, UIS
Cole Taylor, Jr., SS, UIS
Kyle Orloff, So., OF, UINDY
Dylan Stutsman, Jr., RP, UINDY
Brandon Collins, Sr., OF, LEWIS
Josh Handzik, Sr., 3B, SJC
Lucas Barnett, Sr., SP, USI
Jake Fleming, So., 2B, USI
Kyle Griffin, Jr., SP, USI
Drake McNamara, Jr., OF, USI
Kyohei Makita, Sr., DH, UWP
Max Widmar, Jr., UT, UWP
SECOND TEAM ALL-GLVC – EAST DIVISION
Drew Greenwood, Jr., SS, BU
Griffin Neuer, Jr., OF, BU
Alex Phillips, So., OF, BU
Zac Wiley, So., DH, BU
Adam Gregory, So., SP, UIS
Myles Hann, Jr., 2B, UIS
Ethan Howard, Jr., SP, UIS
Austen Muench, Sr., OF, UIS
Storm Joop, Jr., 3B, UINDY
Connor Rutherford, So., OF, LEWIS
Riley Benner, Sr., 1B, SJC
Tasker Strobel, Sr., SP, SJC
Logan Brown, So., C, USI
Sam Griggs, Jr., UT, USI
Justin Watts, Sr., RP, USI
Nate Stolte, So., SP, UWP
FIRST TEAM ALL-GLVC – WEST DIVISION
Ryan Colombo, Sr., UT, DU#
Nic Perkins, Jr., 1B, DU#
Garrett Woods, Sr., SP, DU
Eli Miller, Sr., OF, S&T
J.C. DeMuri, Jr., OF, QU
Hunter Haynes, Fr., SP, QU
Dominic Miles, Sr., OF, QU
Graham Spraker, Sr., SP, QU
Jake Walters, Sr., 2B, QU
Troy Wehde, Jr., DH, QU#
Michael Lydon-Lorson, Sr., SP, RU
Brett Marr, Sr., SS, RU#
Jason Priest, Sr., 3B, TSU
Peter Young, Jr., RP, TSU
Garrett McKinzie, Sr., C, WJC
Drew Standifer, Sr., OF, WJC
SECOND TEAM ALL-GLVC – WEST DIVISION
Alex Austin, So., RP, DU
Ryan Kayhill, So., OF, DU
Mitch Carriger, Sr., OF, MU
AJ Dean, Jr., SP, MU
Matt Knickerbocker, Fr., 2B, S&T
Kaleb Reid, So., OF, S&T
Adam Richter, Sr., 3B, S&T
Tom DeCero, So., SS, UMSL
Kevin Smith, Sr., SP, UMSL
Jake Morsch, Jr., OF, UMSL
Nick Ulrey, Sr., C, UMSL
Cooper Vinz, Jr., 1B, UMSL
Brynn Martinez, Jr., SS, QU
Mark Niebrugge, Sr., SP, QU
Andrew Ellwanger, Sr., SP, RU
Henry Weiler, Jr., UT, RU
Chris Iliopoulos, Sr., DH, TSU
*Extra Member due to tie
# Unanimous Selection
2017 BASEBALL JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES
Drew Greenwood, BU
Devan O’Bryan, DU
Zach Patterson, UIS
Jake Shaw, UINDY
Brandon Collins, LEWIS
Troy Payton, MU
Brad Groleau, MCK
Kyle Hix, S&T
Tanner Hudson, UMSL
Brynn Martinez, QU
Michael Lydon-Lorson, RU
Josh Handzik, SJC
Jaylen Quarles, USI
Austin Tinsley, TSU
Jake Kolasinski, UWP
Robbie Colburn, WJC
by Adam Pruiett