May 19, 2008

MILWAUKEE - Seniors Jesse Hart and Nick Wichser and junior Andy Gerhartz of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team were all named to the All-Horizon League First Team when the league office announced its all-league teams and specialty award winners today.

The trio is among eight members of the team to earn various postseason awards. Hart earned the honor at second base, Wichser in the outfield and Gerhartz as a utility player.

Juniors Shawn Wozniak (first base) and Ben Long (designated hitter) and sophomore Shaun Wegner (catcher) were tabbed for second team accolades, while Gerhartz, junior Brad Lusti and freshman Doug Dekoning were named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team.

Complete Horizon League Release in PDF Format

Senior Jesse Hart

Hart, one of just three first-team repeat honorees, is concluding a record-breaking career with another great season, batting .329 in 53 games. He leads the Horizon League and is second in nation with a team-record 25 doubles and has recorded career-highs of 49 runs scored, five home runs and 50 runs batted in. He has established UWM career records for hits (252), at bats (746) and doubles (63) this season and can still break the league mark in doubles (66). He enjoyed a career-best 18-game hitting streak earlier this year and has been named Horizon League Player of the Week twice in 2008.

Senior Nick Wichser

Wichser is capping his career with his best season statistically and is the only player to have started all 55 games this season. He needs just one more hit to become just the fifth player at UWM to record 200 career hits. He currently leads team in average (.363), runs (56), hits (77), home runs (six), RBI (50), and total bases (115). He leads the team with 27 multi-hit games and recorded the third-longest hitting streak (24 games) in program history earlier this spring.

Junior Andy Gerhartz

Gerhartz has played in the infield and the outfield in his first season at Milwaukee. He has made an immediate impact, starting 35 of 39 games played on the season after missing 10 in March with an injury. He is batting .279 and leads team, and is third in the league, with 15 steals and has been hit by a pitch a league-high 17 times.

Wozniak is enjoying quite a breakout season as a junior, as he has set new career-highs in runs, at bats, hits, doubles and runs batted in. He is batting .356 on the year - second on the team and over 100 points higher than his career average coming into the season. He had a career-best 16-game hitting streak this year and has started 52 of 55 games. His 28 walks are second in league and .453 on-base percentage is sixth.

Long has been an impact player in his first season as UWM's usual designated hitter, batting .282 in 47 games, hitting five home runs and driving in 38 runs. He was a force in league games, recording five home runs and 27 RBI in 20 games of league play. His 49 hits on the year are most of any Milwaukee newcomer.

Wegner was tabbed for second-team honors as a sophomore after earning league all-newcomer honors last year. He has set career-highs across the board in 44 games, starting 37 times: batting .344, scoring 31 runs and driving in 21 with two home runs and 11 doubles. He has walked 18 times and hit by a pitch 13 times to lead team with a .478 on-base percentage. He is second on the team with nine stolen bases in 13 attempts and has recorded four bunt hits. Behind the plate, he has thrown out 16 runners and picked four off the bases.

Lusti stepped in immediately as a weekend starter for UWM, leading the team with a 4.24 ERA that ranks seventh in the Horizon League. He has gone 3-4 in 15 games, starting 11 times. He leads team with 85.0 innings pitched, which is third in league, and has 44 strikeouts.

Dekoning stepped into a starting spot in the outfield as a UWM freshman and has started 38 of 46 games. He raised average from .173 to .319 in the past 27 games, going 34-for-83 (.410) in that stretch. His 38 starts are the most for a Milwaukee freshman since 2004. He has also scored 29 runs and driven in 16, batting .344 with runners in scoring position while stealing nine bases.

Jeremy Hamilton of Wright State earned player of the year honors and Aaron Swenson of Youngstown State was named pitcher of the year. Regular season champion UIC picked up three other specialty awards as Derrick Miramontes was tabbed Newcomer of the Year and Adam Worthington garnered Relief Pitcher of the Year accolades. Flames head coach Mike Dee and Youngstown State head coach Rich Pasquale shared Coach of the Year honors.

The 2008 Horizon League Baseball Championship presented by U.S. Army is scheduled for Tuesday through Sunday, May 20-25, at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio. Single-day tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and youth, while all-tournament passes are $20 and $14, respectively. Students from all Horizon League institutions are free with a valid student identification card. Gates will open one hour prior to the first game each day.

For additional Horizon League baseball information, including the championship bracket, directions to Eastwood Field, GameTracker live statistics and game recaps, check out the official web site at www.horizonleague.org.

For free, live video web casts of all games of the Horizon League Baseball Championship, log onto the Horizon League Network at www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv.

First-Team All-League C Gerald Ogrinc Wright State So. Twinsburg, Ohio 1B Jeremy Hamilton Wright State Jr. Cincinnati, Ohio 2B Jesse Hart Milwaukee Sr. West Allis, Wis,. SS Justin Parker Wright State Jr. Fort Wayne, Ind. 3B Alex Kerins Cleveland State Sr. Louisville, Ky. OF Brad Buell Cleveland State Jr. Martin, Mich. OF Zach Rodeghero Valparaiso Sr. New Lenox, Ill. OF Nick Wichser Milwaukee Jr. Waukesha, Wis. DH Jeff Mercer Wright State Jr. Bargersville, Ind. UT Andy Gerhartz Milwaukee Jr. Wauwatosa, Wis. P Jon Durket Wright State Jr. El Dorado Hills, Calif. P Aaron Swenson Youngstown State So. Twinsburg, Ohio

Second-Team All-League C Shaun Wegner Milwaukee So. Watertown, Wis. 1B Shawn Wozniak Milwaukee Jr. Mayville, Wis. 2B John Giusti Valparaiso Sr. Conventry, R.I. SS Joe Pauley Butler Sr. Skokie, Ill. 3B Sean Lucas Youngstown State Sr. Warren, Ohio OF Kyle Bischof Cleveland State Sr. Louisville, Ky. OF Joe Iacobucci Youngstown State Fr. Boardman, Ohio OF Steve McGuiggan UIC Fr. Apple Valley, Minn. OF Colin Ziegel Butler Jr. Fort Wayne, Ind. DH Ben Long Milwaukee Jr. Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. UT R.J. Gundolff Wright State So. El Dorado Hills, Calif. UT Eric Marzec Youngstown State So. Canton, Ohio P Derrick Miramontes UIC Jr. Durham, Calif. P Adam Worthington UIC Jr. Gurnee, Ill.

All-Newcomer Team Brad Buell Cleveland State Jr. Martin, Mich. Kyle Bischof Cleveland State Sr. Louisville, Ky. Doug Dekoning Milwaukee Fr. Menomonee Falls, Wis. Rafael Garcia UIC Fr. Chicago, Ill. Adam Heideman Cleveland State Fr. Stow, Ohio Joe Iacobucci Youngstown State Fr. Boardman, Ohio Alex Kerins Cleveland State Sr. Louisville, Ky. Steve McGuiggan UIC Fr. Apple Valley, Minn. UT Andy Gerhartz Milwaukee Jr. Wauwatosa, Wis. DH Jeff Mercer Wright State Jr. Bargersville, Ind. P Steve Godawa Valparaiso Fr. Buffalo Grove, Ill. P Brad Lusti Milwaukee Jr. Menahga, Minn. P Derrick Miramontes UIC Jr. Durham, Calif.