Ohio’s Rudy Rott was named MAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Ball State's Drey Jameson was tabbed as MAC Pitcher of the Year after taking home Freshman of the Year honors last year. Kent State's Justin Kirby earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors, Miami's Sam Bachman was picked as this year's MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year & Ball State's Chase Sebby earned MAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
Central Michigan's Jordan Bischel was named the MAC Coach of the Year in his first season of leading the Chippewas. He led the Chippewas to the regular-season MAC crown and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament. The Chippewas, who closed the regular season on a 15-game win streak, are 43-12, matching the 1986 team for the third most victories in program history, and CMU's 22 conference wins is the most for the program since the 1998 team won 23.
Rott's second MAC Player of the Year award is Ohio's fourth. Rott took home the honor in 2018, while Mitch Longo (2015) and Marc Krauss (2009) also won the award. Rott leads the Bobcats in batting average (.377), hits (72), doubles (17), home runs (10), RBI (45), slugging percentage (.634) and on-base percentage (.457). His .377 batting average in No. 40 in the nation and second in the MAC. Rott was second in the league in slugging percentage and tied for second in home runs. In conference play, Rott hit an impressive .423 and had a slugging percentage of .711, both good for second in the league. Rott's MAC on-base percentage is the best in the league at .529.
Jameson was voted as the league's top pitcher after a dominating season that saw him rank among the national leaders in strikeouts. Jameson finished the regular season with 136 strikeouts (3rd in the nation) to go along with his 5-3 record and 3.05 ERA. He started the season making national headlines when he threw 6 no-hit innings against Stanford and he continued to strike out batters at a high rate throughout the season. He struck out 16 in a win at Northern Illinois, 13 in a win over Kent State and 12 in a win over Bowling Green. Batters hit just .213 off Jameson for the season and he posted a 1.13 WHIP.
Bachman earns Freshman Pitcher of the Year accolades after making 14 appearances (13 starts) for the RedHawks. He has a 7-1 record with a 3.80 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 71.0 innings pitched. Opponents hit only .226 against him. In MAC games, Bachman was 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched.
Kirby turned in a strong rookie campaign, starting in 35 of his 40 appearances and posting a .317 average. He led the conference and ranked 53rd in the nation with a .640 overall slugging percentage, belting four home runs, 14 doubles and two triples. In conference play, the Alpharetta, Ga. native led the MAC in slugging (.809), doubles (13) and home runs (8) and ranked in the top-10 in batting average (.371) and runs scored (26).
Sebby earned Defensive Player of the Year distinction after throwing out 15 base stealers. He only made 3 errors and allowed 2 passed balls all season. He also called many pitches for the pitching staff that set BSU's single-season record with 587 strikeouts.
All the #MACtion starts tomorrow with first round contests. For more MAC Baseball Tournament information you can visit Tournament Central -- located
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2019 Specialty Award Winners
Coach of the Year: Jordan Bischel, Central Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Justin Kirby, OF, Kent State
Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami
Player of the Year: Rudy Rott, 1B, Ohio
Pitcher of the Year: Drey Jameson, RHP, Ball State
Defensive Player of the Year: Chase Sebby, C, Ball State
2019 First Team All-MAC
C - Griffin Lockwood-Powell, Central Michigan
1B - Rudy Rott, Ohio
2B - Landon Stephens, Miami
SS - Zavier Warren, Central Michigan
3B - Kian O’Brien, Kent State
OF - Ben Carew, Kent State
OF - Blake Dunn, Western Michigan
OF - Jacob Crum, Central Michigan
SP - Drey Jameson, Ball State
SP - Pat Leatherman, Central Michigan
SP - John Baker, Ball State
SP - Sam Bachman, Miami
RP - Nick Floyd, Ball State
DH - Cole Andrews, Miami
At-Large — Michael Turner, C, Kent State
2019 Second Team All-MAC
C - Cal Elvers, Miami
1B - John Ricotta, Ball State
2B - William Baker, Ball State
SS - Drew Devine, Western Michigan
3B - Zachary Owings, Eastern Michigan
OF - Brad Boss, Toledo
OF - Ross Messina, Ball State
OF - Cam Touchette, Kent State
SP - Cam Brown, Central Michigan
SP - Brady Miller, Western Michigan
SP - Eddie Kutt, Ohio
SP - Jack Corbell, Miami
RP - Luke Albright, Kent State
DH - Alex Ronnebaum, Kent State
At-Large - Chase Sebby, C, Ball State
2019 All-Defensive Team
C- Chase Sebby, Ball State
1B- John Ricotta, Ball State
2B - Riley Minorik, Bowling Green
SS - Neil Lambert, Bowling Green
3B - Zachary Owings, Eastern Michigan
OF - Ben Carew, Kent State
OF - Jake Wilson, Bowling Green
OF - Jacob Crum, Central Michigan
P - John Matthews, Kent State
