10 Thomas More Baseball Players Named All-PAC

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Named first team All-PAC was junior second baseman Ben Laumann(Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), senior center fielder Casey Metzger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and senior pitcher Ken Ruberg (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle). Laumann led the Saints at the plate with a .381 batting average as he was 59-of-155). He had eight home runs, 13 doubles, 46 runs scored and 32 runs batted-in, while having a .619 slugging percentage and was 11-of-12 in stolen base attempts. Metzger batted .373 as he was 60-of-161 with five home runs, two triples, 13 doubles, 43 runs scored and 18 RBI. He had a .571 slugging percentage and was nine-of-nine in stolen base attempts. Ruberg pitched 20 innings and had a 2.25 earned run average (ERA) with 10 saves and a 1-3 record. For the season, he gave up 10 runs (five earned) on 14 hits, while striking out 27.

Sophomore shortstop Jacob Whitford (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) and senior third baseman Bailey Abbatiello (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) were named second team All-PAC. Whitford batted .361 with four home runs, one triple, 15 doubles, 33 runs scored and 35 RBI, while having a .558 slugging percentage. Abbatiello had a .313 batting average with eight home runs, eight doubles, 30 runs scored and 36 RBI, while finishing the season with a .557 slugging percentage.

Sophomore catcher Sam Hauer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), sophomore first baseman Sean Lawrence (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton), junior pitcher Jayson Essell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), senior pitcher Logan Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and first-year pitcher Griffin Smallwood(Lakeside Park, Ky./Dixie Heights) were named honorable mention All-PAC. Hauer batted .301 with a home run, seven doubles, 18 runs scored and 17 RBI. Lawrence had a .338 batting average with five home runs, 11 doubles, 24 runs scored and 39 RBI, while recording a .514 slugging percentage. Essell had a 3.04 ERA and a 5-2 record as he pitched 47.1 innings and had 21 strike outs. Miller pitched 55.1 innings and had a 4.07 ERA, while posting a 3-0 record and having a team-leading 38 strike outs. Smallwood finished the season with a 3.86 ERA and a 3-0 record in 32.2 innings pitched, while striking out 27 batters.

Head Coach Jeff Hetzer and the Saints were also awarded the PAC Team Sportsmanship Award by the conference’s head coaches.

Thomas More finished the season 27-12 and advanced to its 12th-straight PAC Championship Tournament. The Saints have never missed the tournament, while a member of the conference and is the only team in that stretch to make every tournament.