May 13, 2009
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Five Bluffton University baseball players were recently honored by the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference coaches for their efforts on the diamond this spring. A pair of seniors, Curtis Schroeder (Shelby) and Corey Conn (London), two juniors, Cody McPherson (Northwood/Millbury Lake) and Stephen Torres (Lima/Juan Diego) and sophomore Adrian Fritch (Edon) all earned honorable mention All-HCAC recognition following the 2009 season.
Senior Curtis Schroeder, who flirted with a .400 batting average into the final stages of the season, was named honorable mention for the second time in his career. Schroeder also picked up this honor after his freshman campaign when he burst on the Bluffton scene as the starting catcher, a position he held until this year when he moved to first base. He hit .324 with 28 runs scored and 13 RBI while slugging .505 thanks to three home runs, two triples and six doubles. The four-year starter leaves Bluffton with the season (12) and career marks (29) for being hit by the most pitches. He also ranks in the top 15 all-time at Bluffton in the following categories: games played (111), at bats (357), runs scored (65), home runs (eight), RBI (73), total bases (165) and doubles (25).
Senior Corey Conn garnered his first All-HCAC award this year. The four-year starter spent most of his time at second base, but also played third base and shortstop during his career as a Beaver. He hit .331 with 41 safeties, including three homers and six doubles. Conn tied for second on the team with 23 RBI and he scored 26 runs while slugging at a .468 clip. He made his mark on the Bluffton record book with top 15 finishes in: games played (122), games started (110), at bats (396) runs scored (74), hits (114), home runs (eight), total bases (169) and he is tied for fourth with 29 doubles.
Junior Cody McPherson led the Bluffton offense with 53 hits, 31 RBI, 29 runs scored and a .368 batting average. McPherson, who was named second team All-HCAC as a freshman in 2007, started all 37 games for the Beavers this year, including eight on the mound where he went 2-5 with a 7.09 earned run average. His 53 hits and 12 doubles this season tied him for fourth on the single-season list at Bluffton while his 31 RBI and 77 total bases place him in the top 10 all-time for a season. A career .353 hitter, McPherson stands in the top 15 all-time in the following categories with one season to play: slugging percentage (.521), runs scored (63), doubles (25), home runs (nine), total bases (161) and he has a legitimate chance to take over as the all-time hits leader at Bluffton as he has 109 hits, trailing co-leaders Tony Moore and Brad Buckingham who both finished with 168.
Junior transfer Stephen Torres wasted no time pushing himself to the forefront of Bluffton's deep class of incoming catchers. He threw out 16 would-be base stealers and the threat of his arm kept opportunities to a minimum during his first season with the Beavers. His 16 runners caught stealing equaled the single-season record number that Curtis Schroeder cut down as a freshman in 2006. Torres adjusted to Division III pitching quickly, hitting .308 and scoring 19 times. He ripped nine doubles and drove in 15 runs while drawing 11 walks for a .411 on-base percentage.
Sophomore hurler Adrian Fritch was named honorable mention by the HCAC coaches this season. He went 3-2 with a 4.91 earned run average during his seven starts on the mound. Fritch held opponents to a .281 batting average and struck out 19 batters in 47.2 innings of work. He picked up both victories in Bluffton's season-sweep of rival Defiance College and Fritch led the Beavers to a win over perennial-power Thomas More late in the year.
Bluffton went 13-24 overall and 7-15 in the Heartland Conference, including a victory at regular season champion Franklin on the last day of the season and an 11-3 thrashing of NCAA regional qualifier Rose-Hulman in the series lidlifter at Memorial Field.
-BEAVERS-