SAINT PETER, Minn. – Both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) released their All-Region awards Tuesday and four Gusties were named to the All-Midwest Region Teams. In the D3baseball.com award, outfielder Bryce Novak (So., Cleveland) was selected to the First Team, first baseman Jack Hanson (Jr., Minnetonka) and relief pitcher Damon Rademacher (Sr., Princeton) made the Second Team, and Weston Lombard (Sr., Stillwater) was picked to the Third Team. In the ABCA/Rawlings awards, Novak and Rademacher were selected to the Second Team, while Hanson and Lombard made the Third Team.
The regional awards are the first for Gustavus baseball since Tony Konicek and Mike DesLauriers earned All-Region in 2007.
Novak, the MIAC Player of the Year, led the team and MIAC with a .470 batting average, batting 63-for-134 with 33 runs, 10 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 21 RBI. Novak’s .470 batting average is the sixth-highest single season average in program history. Novak set the conference record for hits in a season with 41 in league games only. He led the league with a .500 on-base percentage, while his .657 slugging percentage was fifth in the conference. In 144 plate appearances, Novak struck out just eight times. Primarily playing center field, Novak did not commit a single error with 29 putouts and eight assists for a 1.000 fielding percentage. Novak also pitched 25 innings with five starts, boasting a 2.16 ERA and 3-1 record with 21 strikeouts compared to 10 walks and a .184 opponents’ batting average.
Hanson, an All-Conference selection, was second on the team and fourth in the league with a .409 batting average, batting 45-for-110 with 27 runs, eight doubles, and one triple. He led the team with seven home runs (3rd/MIAC), 33 RBI (6th/MIAC), and a .691 slugging percentage (3rd/MIAC). Primarily playing first base, Hanson posted a .991 fielding percentage with 207 putouts, six assists, and two errors.
Rademacher, an All-Conference pick, was the Gusties’ top reliever this season with a team-high 17 relief appearances (2nd/MIAC). Rademacher had the team’s best record at 7-0 (3rd/MIAC) and led the team with three saves (3rd/MIAC). He finished with a 1.74 ERA after 31 innings, including a 40:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .189 opponents’ batting average. Rademacher finished his career tied for the most career saves in program history with seven.
Lombard, also an All-Conference selection, was the team’s ace of the staff with 10 starts and a 7-1 record. Lombard led the team with 60 and two-thirds innings pitched, finishing with a 2.52 ERA (5th/MIAC), including three complete games highlighted by a nine-inning no-hitter against Bethel on April 26. Lombard set a program record with 72 strikeouts (4th/MIAC) this season. He held opponents to a .174 batting average.