Stevens Sweeps Yearly Awards in Baseball
The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the 2018 Baseball All-Conference teams as voted on by the conference coaches. In addition, the Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year have been selected.
Stevens Instutute of Technology swept all four awards, marking the second time in Empire 8 baseball history, all of the four major awards went to the same program. St. John Fisher College swept the awards in 2011.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alex Detweiler, Stevens Institute of Technology
Detweiler started all 43 games for the Ducks and led the team in almost every offensive category. He hit .380 (63-of-166) with 12 doubles, two triples and five home runs. He scored 40 runs and recorded an impressive 52 RBI. He registered at least one hit in all but nine games and had three or more hits on seven different occasions. Defensively the first baseman recorded 310 putouts, 21 assists and a .982 fielding percentage. It is the third time a Stevens player has been named the Player of the Year.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Charlie Ruegger, Stevens Institute of Technology
It is the third time in four seasons that the Pitcher of the Year honor has gone to a Stevens student-athlete. Ruegger went 8-2 on the mound in 2018 in 13 appearances, and had a 2.58 earned run average. In 80.1 innings pitched he struck out 97 batters against 21 walks, while also picking up a complete game shutout against SUNY Canton. Opponents batter a mere .233 against him this season. His 97 strikeouts set a new single-season record at Stevens.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Thomas Paulich, Stevens Institute of Technology
Paulich was the everyday third baseman for the Ducks making 38 starts and appearinig in 39 of a possibly 43 games. He batted .257 with 35 hits, eight doubles and 26 RBI’s. The infielder committeed only two errors in the field as he made 27 putouts, 73 assists and took part in five double plays. He is the second Duck to claim Rookie of the Year honors, as Jason Yano took the award in 2013. In conference only games he started all 18 games and hit .270 with 16 RBI and no errors in the field.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Stevens Institute of Technology
The Stevens coaching staff, led by head coach Kristaps Aldins, guided the team to 26 wins in 2018 and an E8 Tournament appearance. The Ducks secured the top seed in the postseason tournament for the first time in program history with a 15-3 record against league opponents. The Ducks picked up wins against nationally ranked Johns Hopkins and St. John Fisher and found themselves in the discussion among other teams receiving votes on national polls. It is the second coaching staff of the year award for the Ducks as they were previously honored in 2015.
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
In addition, one member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2018 Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2018 All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Alex Detweiler, Stevens
Pitcher of the Year: Charlie Ruegger, Stevens
Rookie of the Year: Thomas Paulich, Stevens
Coaching Staff of the Year: Stevens