Wednesday, May 29, 2019
PORTLAND, Ore. – Led by two of the conference’s special awards winners, a total of nine GNAC players have been selected to the 2019 Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-West Region Team.
Montana State Billings junior first baseman Daniel Cipriano and Western Oregon junior pitcher Alex Roth lead the list. The GNAC Player and Pitcher of the Year are among five GNAC players named to the first team. Joining them are Western Oregon senior catcher Jared McDonald, Montana State Billings senior outfielder Matt Dillon and Saint Martin’s senior relief pitcher Mickey Walker.
Tapped as second-team selections by the coaches’ organization were Montana State Billings’ sophomore shortstop Wyatt Setian, Yellowjackets senior outfielder Jalen Garcia, MSUB senior pitcher Steen Fredrickson and Western Oregon junior infielder Connor McCord.
All 10 players were also named last week to the NCBWA All-West Region Team while seven were named to the D2CCA All-West Region squad. Cipriano and Roth are consensus first-team selections.
Cipriano took the conference by storm after transferring from Moorpark College in California. Earning GNAC Player and Newcomer of the Year honors, Cipriano 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.
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.
In addition to the all-region accolades, McDonald completed his senior season with selection to the Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Baseball Team. Leading the Wolves with a .362 batting average, McDonald finished fourth in the conference in slugging percentage (.611) and runs (46), was fifth in home runs (9) and sixth in hits (54).
Dillon also proved an offensive force for the Yellowjackets, posting a .287 batting average finishing second in the GNAC with 15 home runs to go along with 13 doubles and 42 RBI. The Billings native also had a .647 slugging percentage, which ranked second in the GNAC, and drew a team-high 29 walks.
The most dominant reliever in the conference this season, Walker posted a 1.87 earned run average in 33.2 innings for the Saints. In the process, Walker earned seven saves, went 4-3 and struck out 58 batters while allowing just seven earned runs.