Five Schools Earn Major GLVC Baseball Postseason Honors

Five Schools Earn Major GLVC Baseball Postseason Honors

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Jeff Smith, Assistant Commissioner



INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Wednesday that Bellarmine University senior Austin Crutcher has been named the 2015 GLVC Player of the Year, while University of Indianapolis junior Matthew Kaplanis and University of Southern Indiana senior Matt Chavarria are the league’s co-Pitcher of the Year honorees.  The three conference standouts were selected by the league coaches and recognized for their efforts at an awards reception that preceded the 2015 GLVC Baseball Championship Tournament, which begins on Thursday in Westfield, Indiana.  In addition, Truman State University freshman pitcher Kent Frantz was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year, while Quincy University skipper Josh Rabe was recognized by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year.  A total of 68 student-athletes from both the GLVC East and West Divisions were also recognized as All-Conference honorees.

Crutcher is the third Bellarmine standout to have ever been honored as the conference’s top player, joining Patrick Brady in 2008 and GLVC Hall of Famer and current Knights’ athletic director Scott Wiegandt.  With league-leading totals in slugging percentage (.733), home runs (16), doubles (20), and total bases (129), Crutcher always proved to be a threat at the plate this season, highlighted by his recent GLVC Player of the Week award on Monday following a .529 (9-for-17) performance with five home runs, seven RBI, nine runs scored, two doubles and a stolen base in a four-game sweep of McKendree.  The Lexington, Kentucky, native hit .335 on the season and started all 50 games in which he played.  Of his 59 hits on the season, 37 were for extra bases, which helped him reach 39 runs batted in and 50 runs scored.  The unanimous first-team All-GLVC outfielder drew 24 walks on the season, which ranked sixth in the GLVC, held an on-base percentage of .427, and ranked second in the league with both 21 stolen bases and 25 attempts.

UIndy’s Kaplanis and USI’s Chavarria become the first pair to share the league’s top pitcher honor since it was first awarded in 2002. 

Kaplanis recorded a conference-best 8-0 record in 10 appearances this season, notching two complete games in 69.2 innings of work that ranked fifth among GLVC pitchers.  In those 69.2 innings pitched, his strikeout-to-walk total was 45-14, and he has held his opponents to a league-best .211 batting average.  The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native, who furnished a 3.49 ERA on the year, is the second Greyhound hurler to be honored with the postseason award, joining Donovan Drake in 2012.

USI’s Chavarria served many roles for the defending NCAA Champion this season, going 7-3 in 15 appearances with four complete games and four saves.  His 1.58 ERA was the best among all GLVC pitchers this season, and he tied Kaplanis with a league-best .211 opposing batting average.  The Carlsbad, New Mexico, native gave up the fewest earned runs (9), the second-fewest runs (15), third-fewest hits (40) and doubles (5), and was one of five GLVC pitchers this year that did not give up a home run.  Chavarria is the first USI standout to earn Pitcher of the Year.      

Truman newcomer Kent Frantz is the first Bulldog player ever to achieve a major postseason honor in the GLVC.   The Bloomington, Illinois, native went 8-1 on the season in nine appearances, six of which were complete games.  He charted a 1.74 ERA that ranked second in the league behind USI’s Chavarria, while his eight wins tied for the conference’s highest total in 2015.  He held his opponent to a .259 batting average at the plate and allowed just 14 runs all season – the lowest total of any GLVC pitcher.   

Rabe, who garnered GLVC Hall of Fame distinction for his playing days at Quincy, earns the first GLVC Coach of the Year accolade of his career.  The coaching honor completes the triple crown for Rabe, who was honored as the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 1998 and the GLVC Player of the Year in 1999 – the last time a Quincy coach earned GLVC Coach of the Year accolades.  Rabe’s mentor, former Hawks skipper Pat Atwell, is the only other QU coach to be recognized by the league, having been honored twice in 1997 and 1999.

The East Division First and Second Teams are made up of 16 players, while ties in the voting extended both the West’s First and Second Teams to 18 selections.  Ten players were named unanimous selections to their positions on the first team.

A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.

2015 GLVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Austin Crutcher, Sr., OF, Bellarmine
2015 GLVC CO-PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Matthew Kaplanis, Jr., SP, Indianapolis & Matt Chavarria, Sr., SP, Southern Indiana
2015 GLVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kent Frantz, Fr., SP, Truman State
2015 GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR:  Josh Rabe, Quincy

FIRST TEAM ALL-GLVC – EAST DIVISION
Nick Wright, So., 1B, BU
Adam Warda, Jr., 2B, UIS
Cole Metcalfe, Jr., 3B, BU
Colin Hawk, Jr., SS, UINDY
Sam Griggs, Fr., UT, USI
ETHAN BLOOM, FR., DH, LEWIS
Jake Kolasinski, So., C, UWP
AUSTIN CRUTCHER, SR., OF, BU
ZACH JACOBS, SR., OF, UINDY
SEAN MCCRACKEN, SR., OF, UINDY
KYLE KEMPF, JR., OF, USI
Austin Warner, Jr., SP, BU
Matthew Kaplanis, Jr., SP, UINDY
Jordan Peterson, Sr., SP, SJC
Matt Chavarria, Sr., SP, USI
Brett Collins, Sr., RP, UINDY
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-GLVC – EAST DIVISION
Michael Rothmund, Fr., 1B, UIS
Neal Tyrell, Fr., 2B, LEWIS
Trent Gunn, Jr., 3B, USI
Mike Barajas, Sr., SS, LEWIS
Riley Benner, So., UT, SJC
John Schram, So., DH, UIS
Ryan Bertram, Jr., C, USI
Jes Staples, Jr., OF, BU
Brady Thomas, Jr., OF, UINDY
Brad Groleau, Fr., OF, MCK
Chase Fieldhouse, Jr., OF, SJC
Jake Sprinkle, Fr., SP, UINDY
Jordan Tackett, So., SP, UINDY
Eddie Mathis, Fr., SP, BU
Brian Bayliss, Jr., SP, SJC
Kyle Schildroth, Sr., RP, UIS
 
 
UNANIMOUS SELECTION IN ALL CAPS
*Members due to a tie		 FIRST TEAM ALL-GLVC – WEST DIVISION
Luke Tewes, Sr., 1B, DU
KORY WISDOM, SR., 2B, QU
Reed Brown, Sr., 3B, S&T
Brett Marr, So., SS, RU
Ryan Snyder, Jr., UT, QU
Brad Ridings, Sr., DH, MU
Tyler Arthur, Sr., C, DU
DALLAS WILLIAMS, SR., OF, DU*
PAUL TRENHAILE, SR., OF, TSU*
Luke Lucchetti, Sr., OF, WJC*
Justin Busekrus, OF, UMSL*
Jarod Hahn, Sr., OF, TSU*
MARK NIEBRUGGE, SO., SP, QU*
Kent Frantz, Fr., SP, TSU*
AUSTIN KRETCHMAR, JR., SP, WJC*
ZACH SEDLACEK, SR., SP, UMSL*
GRAHAM SPRAKER, SO., SP, QU*
Austin Simokaitis, RP, UMSL
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-GLVC – WEST DIVISION
David Jacob, So., 1B, QU
Zak Larkin, Sr., 2B, TSU
Brendan Trimble, Fr., 3B, TSU*
Bryan Porting, Sr., 3B, WJC*
Nick Ulrich, Jr., SS, S&T*
Brynn Martinez, Fr., SS, QU*
Mike Wilkinson, Sr., UT, MU
Sam Morman, Sr., DH, WJC
Jared Patton, Sr., C, WJC
Tyler Johnson, Jr., OF, S&T
Mitch Carriger, So., OF, MU
Tyler Bodenstab, Jr., OF, S&T
Kaleb Depew, Sr., OF, MU
Tommy Hager, Jr., SP, QU
Cody Gardner, Sr., SP, TSU
Aaron Bedsworth, Jr., SP, S&T
Trevor Richards, Sr., SP, DU
Teddy Rule, So., RP, QU