Lowe is Top Pitcher to Lead All-OAC Honors

The Heidelberg University baseball team garnered a league-best 11 Ohio Athletic Conference honors for the 2009 season. The end of the year honors were voted on by the 10 league head coaches in conjunction with the OAC Tournament May 7-9 hosted by Heidelberg.
 
Leading the list of honorees was 2009 Kent Tekulve Pitcher of the Year sophomore closer Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. Carroll). Lowe was joined on the first team with sophomore second baseman Gar Keen (Sparta, Ohio / Highland), sophomore short stop Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville), senior center fielder Jeremy Wentworth (Johnstown, Ohio / St. Charles) and senior pitcher David Paddock (Westerville, Ohio / North).
 
Picking up second team honors was senior first baseman Biagio Boytim (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick), senior right fielder L.B. Emrhein (Seven Hills, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) and junior catcher Steve Decker (Maumee, Ohio / Springfield), while sophomore third baseman Willie Brechun (Canton, Ohio / Canton Central Catholic), senior left fielder Matt Grassley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Point North) and sophomore pitcher Brian Koehl (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview) earned honorable mention accolades.
 
Lowe is just the second conference pitcher of the year in the history of the Berg baseball program, joining Bill Sheets who was honored in 2002. It is the second-straight year that Lowe has picked up All-OAC honors. Over the course of the last two years Lowe has been Heidelberg’s closer and has amassed 18 career saves, which is a Heidelberg career record. He has tied the single-season mark of nine saves in both 2008 and 2009. This season, Lowe leads the OAC with a 1.26 earned run average, while posting an overall record of 3-1. His 55 strike outs stand second on the team, as does his .198 opponent’s batting average. He has made 23 appearances and thrown 50.0 innings, giving up just 35 hits.
 
Keen earned a spot on the first team for the second-straight season. For the year he has knocked in a team-best 58 runs, which set a new single-season record. He also leads the way with 15 doubles and eight home runs, while standing second with 68 hits and is third with 47 runs scored.
 
Another repeat first team performer is Lash. Lash shares the team lead with five triples and is second with 46 runs batted in, 55 runs scored and five home runs. His 11 doubles stands third as does his .568 slugging percentage. At the plate Lash is hitting .355.
 
Landing on the first team for the third-consecutive season is Wentworth. Wentworth has been a mainstay atop the Heidelberg and OAC statistics over the last few years. In 2009, Wentworth leads the team in batting average (.408), hits (75), stolen bases (23) and runs scored (62) and is tied with Lash with five triples. In the outfield, Wentworth has had an unblemished fielding percentage all four years of his career.
 
A four-time honoree is Paddock. His first team honors joins his first team nod in 2008. In 2008 he earned a spot on the second team and was an honorable mention selection in 2007. On the mound, Paddock has started all 11 games he has appeared in and has an OAC leading 9-2 record. He leads the team with 71.2 innings of work and 72 strike outs. Paddock owns a 2.51 earned run average.
 
Closing out his career on a high note is Boytim. He is picking up his first all-league honor. Boytim is second on the team with a .394 batting average, 61 runs scored and 12 doubles. He is third with 39 runs batted in. In the field, Boytim leads the team with 307 put outs, while boasting a .991 fielding percentage.
 
Decker’s second team honor joins his honorable mention selection from a year ago. He has a solid presence behind the plate, along with a .988 field percentage. Decker has thrown out 11 would-be base stealers. At the plate, Decker has come into his own in his third season. He is batting .347 with 50 hits and 34 runs scored. He has 12 extra base hits, highlighted by 11 doubles.
 
Another solid performer for the Berg this season has been Emrhein. He is picking up his first OAC honor for his career after patrolling the right side of the outfield. Emrhein has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 61 chances. At the plate, the career record holder for hit by pitches also has made contributions with his swing, batting .333 with 31 hits in 93 at bats. He is third on the team with 17 walks and has added 17 steals.
 
Brechun is another first time all-conference recipient for the Berg. He is being honored for his play at the hot corner, as well as at the plate. In his second season, Brechun is batting .333 with 46 hits in 138 at bats. He is second on the team with 12 doubles, while adding 31 runs batted in.
 
Grassley has been awarded his second All-OAC honor after picking up second team recognition a year ago. For the year, Grassley has 55 hits in 169 at bats for a .325 batting average. He has scored 36 times, while knocking in 36 runs.
 
Rounding out the All-OAC performers is Koehl. Koehl is a first-time honoree by the OAC and provides a solid arm in the Heidelberg pitching rotation. He has started nine of the 11 games he has appeared in and is second on the staff with a 6-2 record. In 53.1 innings of work he has struck out 39 batters and owns a 3.71 earned run average.
 
In 2009, Heidelberg swept both the OAC Regular Season and Tournament trophies, which earned them a spot in the upcoming NCAA Mideast Regional hosted by Adrian College in Adrian, Mich. Heading into regional action Heidelberg stands at 36-7 overall. The Berg has posted its second-straight 30-win campaign and fifth overall.