Wednesday, May 22, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – The baseball accolades continue to roll in after one of the most successful seasons in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history.

A total of 14 representatives from the GNAC have been selected to the 2019 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-West Region Team.

Four of those selections were named to the first team as Western Oregon led the way with a pair of recipients.

In his junior season in Monmouth, GNAC Pitcher of the Year Alex Roth received first-team recognition after leading the Wolves to a second-place finish in the conference standings. Roth, winning the league's Pitcher of the Year award for a second straight season, led the conference with a 2.35 earned run average and a perfect 7-0 record. In 61.1 innings pitched, he allowed just 16 earned runs while notching 87 strikeouts.

Also representing the Wolves is utility man Connor McCord. McCord shined throughout the year at the plate, ranking fourth in the GNAC with 42 RBI.

GNAC Player of the Year Daniel Cipriano is the lone Montana State Billings representative on the first team. Cipriano led the conference in batting average (.405), RBI (52), home runs (18) and on-base percentage (.528). His monster numbers at the plate led the Yellowjackets to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II West Regional.

Rounding out the conference's first-team selections is Saint Martin's reliever Mickey Walker. The lone relief pitcher to make the team, Walker led the GNAC with seven saves and struck out 23 batters looking, a mark bested by only two other arms. The senior finished his final season in Lacey with a 1.87 earned run average while totaling four wins along the way.

Montana State Billings leads the GNAC with three second-team honorees as shortstop Wyatt Setian and outfielders Matt Dillon and Jalen Garcia all made the list. Joining the MSUB trio is Western Oregon catcher Jared McDonald.

The conference's representation is rounded out by six Honorable Mention nods in the form of WOU's Patrick Chung, Collin Runge, Griffey Halle and Jacob Maiben and Montana State Billings' Chris Arpan and Steen Fredrickson.

Roth, McCord, Cipriano and Walker are now eligible for NCBWA All-American honors, which will be announced in the coming weeks.