The AMCC has landed ten student-athletes between the D3baseball.com and the ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region Teams. The teams are headlined by La Roche College seniors Ian Velez and Mitchel Yard who were both named to the first team by both organizations.
Velez makes the all-region first team at third base on both lists. He led the AMCC in hits while ranking second in batting average, sixth in on base percentage and runs, eighth in total bases and RBIs and ninth in triples. Velez ranked third in the nation in toughest to strike out, sixteenth in hits and twenty-ninth in batting average.
Yard is the Mideast all-region first team designated hitter, according to both organizations, after having a breakout 2017 season. He was twice named AMCC Player of the Week and made D3Baseball's National Team of the Week. He led the AMCC in triples while ranking fourth in total bases, slugging percentage and home runs, fifth in RBI, sixth in hits and seventh in doubles. He also ranked nationally in triples, slugging percentage, home runs and total bases.
La Roche senior David Lemley was named to the second team at the first base position by both D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings. He earned AMCC Player of the Week and D3Baseball's National Team of the Week honors earlier this year. Lemley led the AMCC in RBI, ranked second in hits and total bases, third in runs, doubles, batting average and on base percentage, fourth in home runs and fifth in slugging percentage. He also ranked nationally in batting average, RBI, doubles, slugging percentage, hits, home runs, doubles, runs and total bases. Lemley is the school's leader in career home runs.
Penn State Behrend sophomore second baseman Scott Sada was also named to the second team by both groups. This is Sada's second straight all-region honor, as he was selected to the first team after his freshman season. Sada hit at a .390 mark and led the team in slugging percentage (.686), hits (62), RBIs (48), runs (46), doubles (20), home runs (7), and triples (3). His 20 doubles this season puts him tied for sixth in NCAA Division III statistics. He also stole 19 bases and 18 multiple-hit games. Sada went a perfect 3-for-3 and drove in five runs in a 16-4 win over D'Youville.
Mount Aloysius College sophomore shortstop Matthew McCourt picked up second team honors by ABCA/Rawlings and was named to the third team by D3baseball.com. McCourt led the Mounties offensively all season and finished the regular season tops in the AMCC in five different categories -- home runs (14), RBI (47), doubles (22), slugging percentage (.826), and runs scored (48), while also finishing sixth in stolen bases (11). In all of NCAA Division III, he finished the regular season first in doubles, second in home runs, third in slugging percentage, fourth in home runs per game, and fifth in total bases (105). McCourt concluded the 2017 season with 15 home runs, 23 doubles, 50 runs scored, 48 RBI, a .349 batting average, .822 slugging percentage and 125 total bases.
Picking up third team D3baseball.com honors was Hilbert College senior catcher Ryan Bonafede, Pitt-Greensburg sophomore first baseman Tyler Holland, and La Roche senior outfielders Corey Lazor and Luis Navedo. Additionally, Penn State Behrend sophomore pitcher Phil Myers picked up second team honors by ABCA/Rawlings.
Bonafede becomes the first baseball player in program history to pick up an all-region honor. He had a tremendous season hitting for the Hawks, leading the AMCC with a .476 batting average and a .550 on-base percentage. He sits at #4 in Division III in BA and #5 in OBP as of the May 22nd National Rankings release. In the 49 hits Bonafede earned, 16 were doubles which also rank him nationally at #7.
Holland had a breakout sophomore campaign for the Bobcats in 2017, in which he batted .395 with 11 home runs, 37 RBI, and posted a .754 slugging percentage. His 11 home runs ranked second in the conference and set a new single-season Pitt-Greensburg record for most home runs. Holland smacked a home run with his first hit of the season against Penn State Abbington and concluded 2017 with a two-run shot in his final at-bat of 2017 against Mt. Aloysius.
Lazor is an all-region performer for the second consecutive season. He ranked second in the AMCC in triples, third in hits, sixth in runs, and ninth in batting average and home runs. He also holds the AMCC record for most hits in a season and is a 2-time AMCC All-Tournament Team performer.
Navedo is also on the all-region team for the second straight year. He led the AMCC in runs, ranked fourth in doubles and RBI, fifth in hits, seventh in total bases, eighth in walks and ninth in triples and home runs. Navedo also ranked in the top fifty nationally in doubles, runs and RBIs.
Myers is earning his first all-region accolade. The left-handed hurler made 12 appearances on the mound this season and finished with a team-leading six wins. He tallied a 3.05 ERA, giving up 22 earned runs in 65 innings of work. Myer threw four complete games and fanned 50 batters.