Mays, Piatt Earn All-Independent Honors

TIFFIN, Ohio (May 14, 2012) - Blue Knights Matt Mays (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton HS) and Tom Piatt (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge HS) earned NCAA D-II All-Independent honors this week, following a 21-26 season by the Blue Knights.  Mays, a senior utility player, made the All-Independent First Team as a DH.  Piatt was 1 of 4 starting pitchers named to the Second Team.

Mays led the Blue Knights in batting average (.314), games played and started (47), hits (48), doubles (10), RBIs (41), and sac flies (5).  He also had the longest hitting streak of the season (7 games), the most multi-hit games (13) and the most multi-RBI games (12).  Mays made starts this season at catcher, third base, left field and DH.

Piatt picked up his first career post-season honor after pitching the Blue Knights to 5 of their 21 wins in 2012.  The junior led the team with an overall record of 5-2.  He finished second to teammate Julius Storey in starts (10), complete games (2), innings pitched (55.0), and strikeouts (42).  He had 1 complete game shutout on the year, and finished tied for 10th all-time at UU in single season winning percentage. 

The top 3 independent finishers, Central Oklahoma, Lindenwood and Malone, dominated the remaining 2012 All-ICAA baseball awards. The 3 teams combined to win all 4 individual awards and have 19 selections, including 11 on the First Team.

The ICAA is composed of NCAA Division II schools that are not in a conference.  Baseball members in 2012 included Central Oklahoma, Lindenwood, Malone, Northeastern State, Notre Dame College, Oakland City, Palm Beach Atlantic, Salem International and Urbana.

Coach of the Year was Dax Leone of Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos went 31-17 and won the ICAA improving from 24-23 in 2011. Leone is 55-40 in two seasons at COU.

Player of the Year was Austin Rycroft of Central Oklahoma. The infielder had 18 doubles, 3 triples and 19 home runs, scored 54 runs, drove in 63 runs and batted .389. Rycroft is second in the country in total bases (151), fourth in home runs and home runs per game (0.40), fifth in slugging percentage (.839) and eighth in RBI’s and RBI’s per game (1.31).

Pitcher of the Year was Jared Messer of Malone. He was 8-3 with seven complete games and four shutouts and struck out 68 batters for a 0.86 ERA in 73 innings.

Freshman of the Year went to Wade Rothermich of Lindenwood. The outfielder had 10 doubles, five triples and two home runs, scored 50 runs, drove in 26 runs, stole 11 bases and batted .385.  The remaining All-ICAA teams are below.

2012 ALL-ICAA BASEBALL AWARDS
Coach of the Year – Dax Leone – Central Oklahoma
Player of the Year – Austin Rycroft – Central Oklahoma
Pitcher of the Year – Jared Messer - Malone
Freshman of the Year – Wade Rothermich - Lindenwood

2012 ALL-ICAA BASEBALL
FIRST TEAM
Travis Murray C Palm Beach Atlantic Sr. Spring Hill, Florida
Kevin Blue INF Central Oklahoma Sr. Choctaw, Oklahoma
Tucker Brown INF Central Oklahoma Sr. Shawnee, Oklahoma
Chris Gallegos INF Northeastern State Sr. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Austin Rycroft INF Central Oklahoma Sr. Edmond, Oklahoma
Bob Suitca INF Malone Jr. Homeworth, Ohio
Sam Cracium OF Malone Sr. Strongsville, Ohio
Wade Rothermich OF Lindenwood Fr. O’Fallon, Missouri
Jared Wright OF Central Oklahoma Jr. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Matt Mays DH Urbana Sr. Hamilton, Ohio
Andrew Hyde P Notre Dame College Sr. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Edgar Lopez P Central Oklahoma Jr. Yuma, Arizona
Jared Messer P Malone Jr. Massillon, Ohio
Zac Pearman P Lindenwood So. Granite City, Illinois
Ryan Griffin RP Lindenwood Sr. Sydney, Australia
SECOND TEAM
T.J. Rosenberg C Malone Sr. Hanoverton, Ohio
Logan Gray INF Malone So. Gnadenhutten, Ohio
Ryan Light INF Lindenwood Fr. St. Peters, Missouri
Justin Sizemore INF Palm Beach Atlantic Sr. Green Bay, Wisconsin
MattTellor INF Lindenwood So. Sarasota, Florida
Brooks Fleming OF Palm Beach Atlantic So. Palm City, Florida
Keegan Morrow OF Central Oklahoma Sr. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Marc Rogier OF Oakland City Jr. Ferdinand, Indiana
Trent Wilkins OF Northeastern State Jr. Duncan, Oklahoma
Craig George P Northeastern State Jr. Muskogee, Oklahoma
Ryan Miller P Central Oklahoma Jr. Countyline, Oklahoma
Thomas Piatt P Urbana Jr. Springfield, Ohio
Josh Rolan P Central Oklahoma Sr. Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Nate Morrison RP Malone Sr. Marlboro, Ohio