Thomas More College head baseball coach Jeff Hetzer has been named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year and nine Saints have been named All-PAC by the conference’s head coaches.
Hetzer, in his 16th season with Thomas More, guided the Saints to the PAC regular season and championship tournament title. During the season he earned his 400th career win and has a career record for 418-225-3.
The Coach of the Year award is Hetzer’s third (2011, 2014, 2016). This year’s tournament championship is the fourth for the Saints (2010, 2011, 2014, 2016) since joining the PAC in 2006. The Saints will be making their seventh appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship this week, including their fifth in the last seven years.
Senior first baseman Donovan Pogue (Sharonville, Ohio/St. Xavier), sophomore second baseman Ben Laumann (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), junior right fielder Ben Kenning (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and junior center fielder Casey Metzger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) were named first team All-PAC.
Thomas More College head baseball coach Jeff Hetzer has been named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year (TMC Athletics Photo)
Pogue is batting .396 with a team-leading 11 home runs, seven doubles, a team-leading 51 runs batted-in and is second with 47 runs scored. Laumann is batting .407 and has a school-record 55 runs scored to go with five home runs, one triple, 15 doubles and 47 RBI, while going 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts. Kenning is fourth on the team in batting with a .383 average as he has a team-leading 19 doubles and is second in RBI with 49, while also hitting five home runs and one triple. Metzger leads the team in batting with a .412 average as he has four home runs, one triple, seven doubles, 30 RBI and 42 runs scored.
Junior pitcher Ken Ruberg (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and senior pitcher Tim Baldrick (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) were named second team All-PAC. Ruberg has made 21 appearances and has a 3.76 earned run average and a 4-1 record with 10 saves, while striking out 30 batters in 26.1 innings. Baldrick leads the Saints’ starting pitching with a 4.37 ERA and a 6-1 record in 55.2 innings pitched and has struck out 26 batters.
Freshman pitcher Adam Ruwe (Park Hills, Ky./Covington Catholic), freshman catcher Sam Hauer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and sophomore third baseman Bailey Abbatiello (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) were named honorable mention All-PAC. Ruwe has made 17 appearances on the mound and has 3.07 ERA and 6-0 record, while striking out 20 batters in 29.1 innings pitched. Hauer has batted .343 with two home runs, six doubles, 24 runs scored and 23 RBI. Abbatiello has batted .301 with three home runs, five doubles, 23 runs scored and 29 RBI.
The Saints open up NCAA Division III Championship play tomorrow (Wednesday, May 18, 2016) as No. 6 seed at the Mount Berry, Georgia Regional hosted by Berry College and will play No. 6-ranked and No. 1-seeded Emory University. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at William R. Bowdoin Field.
From TMC Athletics
