All-Heartland Conference release

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team saw two of its seniors named Second Team All-Heartland Conference when the 2019 post season hardware was handed out on Tuesday, May 14. Dante D'Andrea (Westerville/North) and Colin Gregory (Fremont/Clyde) made their marks on the record books en route to All-HCAC recognition. Junior Parker Reynolds (Avon) was named Honorable Mention All-HCAC by the conference coaches. 

D'Andrea, who is a three-time All-Heartland Conference honoree, was outstanding in his final season as a Beaver. His 1.70 earned run average was the lowest at Bluffton in nearly 30 years and ranked fourth all-time on the single-season list. It was second in the conference, behind Luke Buehler who earned HCAC Pitcher of the Year honors. His six wins are tied for 2nd all-time at Bluffton and they placed him 3rd in the Heartland Conference. He ranked 6th all-time with four saves and 7th all-time with 17 appearances this season. D'Andrea limited opponents to a .209 batting average, giving him three of the top seven seasons all time in that category.

The jack of all trades for Bluffton's pitching staff, D'Andrea finished his career with the lowest opponent batting average of any Beaver with a .232 OBA. He made 57 appearances, just two shy of Taylor Gambrell's school-record 59 appearances. D'Andrea stands 3rd all-time with 16 wins and he is tied for 4th all-time with seven saves. His 2.70 career ERA placed him 5th all-time, while his 7.01 strikeouts per nine innings are 13th all-time.

Gregory hit two of Bluffton's most memorable home runs during the final week of the 2018 season and he picked right up where he left off with five homers in Florida en route to a school-record and HCAC-leading 11 dingers in 2019! He drove in 38 runs, 5th all-time for a single season and 4th in the conference this year. Gregory's 38 runs scored is 5th in the conference and tied for 8th all-time at Bluffton.

The 11 home runs for Gregory pushed him to 4th on the career list as he finished with 16 career bombs. His 256 total bases are 6th all time as are his 531 at bats. Gregory scored 99 runs and drove in 97 runs (both 9th all-time). He is also in the top 10 on the career lists with 164 hits, 34 doubles, 141 games played and 135 games started. Gregory finished his career with a .309 batting average and a .482 slugging percentage en route to his second All-HCAC honor.

Reynolds led the Beavers with a .333 batting average and .429 on-base percentage. His 45 hits equaled Gregory for top honors in 2019. He drove in 28 runs, scored 17 times and smacked 11 doubles for the Beavers. Reynolds made the most of his first season as Bluffton's starting backstop, managing the Beaver pitching staff while throwing out eight would-be base stealers.

In conjunction with the All-Heartland Conference awards, the conference has announced the All-HCAC Sportsmanship Team for the 2019. This award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field/court of competition. Bluffton senior Jeff Arnett (Tecumseh, MI) was recognized for his sportsmanship this season.

-BEAVERS-