Baseball Lands 10 on All-OAC List; Palm Named Coach of the Year

The 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Champion Heidelberg College baseball team placed a league-high 10 players on the All-OAC list for the 2008 campaign, as well as ninth-year head coach Matt Palm was tabbed the Don Schaly Coach of the Year.

A total of 45 student-athletes were selected to three teams. All awards were selected by the league head coaches at their annual spring meeting held in conjunction with the OAC Tournament.

Earning a spot on the first team was freshman second baseman Gar Keen (Fredericktown, Ohio / Highland), freshmen short stop Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville), junior center fielder Jeremy Wentworth (Johnstown, Ohio / St. Charles) and senior right handed pitcher Steve Calevro (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg). Second team accolades go to junior left fielder Matt Grassley (Grosse Point Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North), junior left handed pitcher David Paddock (Westerville, Ohio / North) and senior right handed pitcher Andrew McFarland (Mansfield, Ohio / Madison), while sophomore catcher Steve Decker (Maumee, Ohio / Springfield), freshmen left handed pitcher Jake Gossman (Westerville, Ohio / South) and freshmen right handed pitcher Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll) garnered honorable mention honors.

Palm is picking up his third Don Schaly Coach of the Year honor in nine years at the helm. He previously earned the coach of the year award in 2000 and 2004. Palm is just the second Heidelberg coach all-time to be named coach of the year, joining 1988 honoree Jeff Jenkins. Under Palm’s tutelage in 2008 Heidelberg won the OAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles and earned an automatic bid to the Mideast Regional. At Heidelberg Palm has posted a 262-127-2 overall record, which includes four 30-win campaigns. Heidelberg enters regional play with an overall record of 37-8, marking the most wins in a single season at the Berg.

Heidelberg’s freshman middle infield has provided a solid foundation for Heidelberg through out the entire season. Lash leads the way on the team with 43 runs batted in, while standing second in batting average (.419), hits (65) and runs scored (42). He was a two-time OAC Hitter of the Week recipient. Keen backs Lash with 41 RBIs, while batting .333 (56-for-168), to go along with 25 runs scored. Both Lash and Keen were selected to the 2008 OAC All-Tournament Team and were the lone freshman listed to the first team.

Wentworth is making his second-straight appearance on the all-conference list. He picked up second team accolades a season ago. For the year he leads the team in batting average (.430), hits (77), runs scored (52) and triples (7). His seven triples set a new single-season record, while his hits currently ties the record and he is one run shy of tying the single season runs scored mark. Last weekend he earned a spot on the OAC All-Tournament Team.

Looking to leave a mark on the storied history of pitchers at Heidelberg is Calevro. In his final season he owns a 5-0 record, while preserving six ’Berg victories. In 33.1 innings of work he has given up 28 hits and 14 runs, just eight earned, to carry a 2.16 earned run average. His first team honors comes on the heels of his second team recognition from a season ago.

Picking up his first postseason honor of his career was Grassley. Grassley leads the team with 19 doubles and needs just one more to tie the single-season record. For the year he is hitting .364 with 56 hits and 38 runs scored. He boasts a team-leading .610 slugging percentage, while sharing team honors with 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts.

A three-time all-league recipient is Paddock. Paddock was named to the honorable mention team as a freshman followed by first team honors in 2007. Paddock has served in a starting capacity in all three seasons at the Berg, standing at 5-3 in 2008. In 58.2 innings of work he has struck out 48 batters, while giving up 62 hits. He carries a 3.99 ERA for the year.

McFarland picks up his second-consecutive all-league honor. He provided a solid one-two punch on the mound with Paddock in OAC doubleheaders for the Berg. McFarland owns an overall record of 6-1 for the year and has pitched three complete games. He has struck out 43 batters and has a 4.18 ERA.

In his first season in a starting role behind the plate is Decker. He has played in all 45 contests for the Berg and has a .994 fielding percentage, while catching 23 would be base stealers on the year. At the plate he is hitting .257 (35-for-136), highlighted by 11 doubles. He has knocked in 22 runs on the year, while scoring 28 of his own.

Gossman has been looked at to start or come out of the bullpen in 2008. He stands at 4-2 on the year in 10 appearances, six of which were starts. He ranks second on the team with a 2.05 earned run average and has stuck out a team-leading 52 batters. In 48.1 innings of work he has gave up just 29 hits and 11 earned runs. He picked up OAC Pitcher of the Week accolades midway through the season.

Rounding out the list of all-conference performers is Lowe. Lowe has been a threat for opponents out of the bullpen. On the year he has made 20 relief appearances and owns a record of 5-0, to go along with seven saves. He has struck out 33 batters and gave up just 30 hits and nine earned runs on the year. He was a two-time OAC Pitcher of the Week honoree and was tabbed the OAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after picking up two wins and two saves in four appearances.

Heidelberg, ranked ninth in the nation by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and 17th by D3baseball.com, begins its trek in the Mideast Regional on Wednesday, May 14 against Transylvania. Heidelberg earned the No. 1 seed in the six-team regional that is hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. The double-elimination regional concludes on May 18 with the winner advancing to the double-elimination championships in Appleton, Wisc. May 23-27.