MASON, Ohio- Players from Ashland, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Northwood headlined the end of the year awards as Max Caron and Myles Beale were voted Co-Players of the Year while Kentucky Wesleyan’s Evan Oakley was voted as the top pitcher in the conference. Coaches voted Ashland’s Sean Krueckeberg as the Freshman of the Year.
Caron, a Graduate Student from Lewis Center, Ohio, has the highest batting average in the league with a whopping .417 through 47 games. Through the regular season, he recorded a slugging percentage of .518, including 36 RBIs and 70 total hits. Caron and the Eagles are ranked No. 3 in the most recent Midwest Regional rankings.
In addition to Caron, nine Eagles were voted to either first or second team all-conference, including Freshman of the Year Sean Krueckeberg. During his first collegiate season, Krueckeberg finished the regular season fifth in the league in batting average (.358), going 59-165 from the plate. The redshirt freshman is 6
th in slugging percentage (.570) and 8th in OPS (1.018).
Northwood’s Myles Beale shares the honors with Caron after leading the Timberwolves to a North Division title and the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament. Beale sports a .356 batting average with 13 doubles, three triples, and three home runs.
Brad Baldwin of Northwood was voted by his peers as the Coach of the Year, after leading the Timberwolves to a regular season mark of 31-19. In his second year at the helm of Northwood Baseball, Baldwin landed six student-athletes on either first or second team all-conference.
Tiffin’s Ty Hatfield was awarded the Elite 26 Award for Academic Excellence. Hatfield, a senior from Fredricktown, is majoring in accounting.
The Great Midwest Baseball Championship features the league’s top-eight teams based on winning percentage. First-round games began Wednesday, May 7 at Noon ET.
Live coverage of all games will be available on the Great Midwest Digital Network. The top two teams after day three will advance to Saturday’s championship, slated for Noon ET.
Additional championship information can be found on the Championship Central page.