Monday, June 3, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a season that saw the junior lead the conference in many offensive statistical categories, Montana State Billings first baseman Daniel Cipriano has been selected to all three Division II baseball All-America teams.

Cipriano was named a Second Team All-American by the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and earned Third Team All-American honors from both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

In addition, Western Oregon junior utility player Connor McCord and junior pitcher Alex Roth were named as honorable mentions to the NCBWA All-America Team.

A transfer from Moorpark College in California, Cipriano was named the GNAC Player and Newcomer of the Year. He led the GNAC with a .405 batting average, 18 home runs, 52 runs batted in, 59 runs scored, a .827 slugging percentage and a .528 on-base percentage. His 18 home runs tied the GNAC single-season record and broke the MSUB mark. Cipriano’s offense helped lead MSUB to the GNAC championship and the team’s first NCAA Division II Championships berth.

Cipriano is just the second consensus All-American in Montana State Billings program history. Kaleo Johnson was named an All-American by all three organizations last year. Cipriano is also the sixth consensus All-American in GNAC baseball history, joining Western Oregon’s Blake Keitzman (2009), Blake Miller (2012), Grady Wood (2012) and Bo Folkinga (2012).

Roth was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season after he led the GNAC with a 7-0 record and a 2.33 earned run average in 11 appearances. In 61.1 innings, Roth allowed 21 runs, 16 earned, struck out 87 batters and had a .200 opponent batting average. Roth’s earned run average was 1.21 points better than any other qualified pitcher in the GNAC.

McCord was an effective presence for the Wolves both at the plate and on the mound. Offensively, McCord finished with a .303 batting average, which included 43 runs, eight doubles, eight home runs and a .556 slugging percentage. On the mound, McCord finished with a 2.33 earned run average and three saves in 11 appearances. He allowed just 18 runs, 10 earned, in 38.2 innings, struck out 50 and had a .182 opponent batting average.