ST. LOUIS – Westminster freshman pitcher Sam Huesgen was named the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year while a total of six Blue Jays were named to All-Conference teams.
Tanner Branneky was named to the first team, Huesgen, Blake Strebler, and Ryan Gvillo earned a spot on the second team, and Nick Cessna and Alex Dickneite were chosen to the third team.
Huesgen proved to be one of the more dominate pitchers in the league, making 12 appearances and posting a 6-3 record during the regular season. He led the team in complete games with 4, and posted the lowest ERA on the team of 2.90. His 83 strikeouts were the most of any Blue Jay pitcher, while walking just 16 and allowing only 26 earned runs.
Branneky led the Blue Jays in many offensive categories, posting a team-high .414 batting average. He also led the teams in home runs (9), and RBI (33), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.768) and was tied for second on the team with 42 hits. During the last home series of the year, Branneky smashed his 26th home run to break the career record at Westminster.
Strebler was also an offensive threat in the Blue Jay lineup, and was second on the team in batting average at .396. He was also second on the team in home runs with six and on-base percentage at .448. Strebler led the team in runs (37), hits (42), and doubles (10) and added 27 RBI. The starting second baseman, Strebler recorded a fielding percentage of .964 on the year.
Ryan Gvillo served as the Blue Jay designated hitter, smashing five home runs and driving in 31 RBI, which was second-best on the team. He posted a batting average of .350 during the regular season and a slugging percentage of .537, which was third on the team.
Nick Cessna, the starting first baseman for the Blue Jays, posting a batting average of .307 to end the regular season, including 31 hits, 24 runs, two home runs, and 25 RBI. He was near-perfect in the field, with a fielding percentage of .989 and 250 putouts.
Alex Dickneite started 12 games for the Blue Jays, posting a record of 7-3 including three complete games. He allowed 28 earned runs on 79 hits for an ERA of 3.30, striking out 56 and walking 24.
A.C. Long was named to the All-Sportsmanship team for his constant display of sportsmanship throughout the season.
