WEST CHESTER, Pa. – West Chester sophomore second baseman Joe Wendle was named a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Division II Player of the Year Award by Ping! Baseball it was announced Wednesday.
Wendle and teammate Fred Breidenbach were each named to the Watch List earlier in the week. However, that list of 108 names has now been pared down to 35 semifinalists. Candidates include players from all eight regions of the country and several players who have propelled their teams into the NCAA Regionals which get under way Thursday thru Sunday. The list will be narrowed down once again next week when the five finalists for the award are revealed on Monday, May 17.
The award will be presented annually to the top DII baseball player in the country and is endorsed by the former college and major league baseball all-star Tino Martinez. One accomplished student-athlete from 2010 will be named the initial recipient of the award at the conclusion of the NCAA DII Baseball Championships held May 22-29 in Cary, N.C .
Wendle is hitting .401 for the Golden Rams with 75 hits and 60 runs scored. His .970 fielding percentage is the second highest among second basemen in the PSAC East this spring. Wendle hit 18 doubles, five triples and six home runs, earning a spot on the first team All-PSAC East squad at the conclusion of the regular season.
Tino Martinez was a two-time MLB all-star and four-time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees. In 1997 he won both the Silver Slugger Award and the all-star game home run derby and finished second in the AL MVP voting. During his 16 years (1990-2005) playing at the highest level, he collected 1,925 hits with 339 home runs, over 900 runs scored, 1,271 RBI and had at least 100 RBI in six seasons.
Atlantic Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Greyson Schram Sr. Concord 2B .530, 18, 77, 11
Paul Bingham Sr. IUP SS .463, 3, 59, 45
Shayne Houck So. Kutztown OF/3B .480, 16, 71, 5
Joe Wendle So. West Chester 2B .401, 6, 53, 16
Central Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Nate Baumann Jr. Augustana (SD) OF .441, 14, 60, 40
Brett Nigbur Jr. Mesa State C .484, 12, 45, 1
Jason Carr Sr. New Mexico Highlands 1B .468, 21, 75, 1
Tony Mueller So. Winona State OF .441, 10, 32, 18
East Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Derek Migrants Jr. Assumption OF .425, 6, 44, 7
ERA, W-L, IP, SO
Gabriel Duran Jr. Dowling SP .074, 5-3, 60.2, 68
Jose Macias Jr. Franklin Pierce SP 1.08, 8-1, 75, 104
Ryan O'Rourke Sr. Merrimack SP 1.25, 5-2, 79, 93
Midwest Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Cody Grice So. Grand Valley State OF .478, 6, 43, 16
Jason Cisper Sr. Northern Kentucky OF .463, 3, 43, 34
Devin Rudolph Sr. Tiffin OF .529, 9, 55, 0
ERA, W-L, IP, SO
Kevin Jordan Sr. Northern Kentucky SP 1.94, 7-3, 88.1, 70
South Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Matt Johnson Jr. Arkansas Tech OF .418, 4, 40, 35
Cannon Lester Sr. Southern Arkansas 3B .431, 13, 67, 8
Mike Schwartz Sr. Tampa DH/1B .421, 11, 48, 2
Brandon Decker Sr. Valdosta State OF .445, 17, 72, 2
ERA, W-L, IP, SO
Hayden Simpson Jr. Southern Arkansas SP 1.88, 12-1, 86.1, 112
Tim Griffin Sr. Rollins SP 2.34, 11-2, 92.1, 86
South Central Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Aaron Oliver Jr. Abilene Christian OF .402, 11, 57, 24
Chance Tuttle Sr. Central Missouri OF .447, 13, 55, 23
Michael Felton Fr. SW Oklahoma State 2B .495, 3, 50, 3
ERA, W-L, IP, SO
Brooks Martin Sr. Central Missouri SP 2.20, 9-0, 61.1, 78
Alfredo Caballero Sr. Incarnate Word RP 1.32, 5-1, 41, 69
Joe Holtmeyer So. Nebraska-Omaha SP 1.90, 9-1, 75.2, 137
Southeast Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Craige Lyerly Sr. Catawba 3B .403, 8, 53, 27
Jason Rogers Jr. Columbus State 1B .427, 25, 78, 14
Bryan Fogle Sr. Erskine OF .442, 27, 102, 10
Barrett Kleinknecht Sr. Francis Marion UTL .352, 11, 41, 10
1.91, 5-1, 28.2, 21
Jeremy Nowak Sr. Mount Olive UTL .469, 17, 81, 26
ERA, W-L, IP, SO
Drew Procence So. North Greenville SP 2.28, 10-1, 75, 60
West Region
Player Yr. School Pos BA, HR, RBI, SB
Kevin Pillar Jr. Cal St.-Dominguez Hills OF .386, 5, 45, 11
Brandon Gregorich Sr. UC San Diego 1B .468, 7, 75, 7
ERA, W-L, IP, SO
Patrick Haugen Sr. San Francisco State SP 2.53, 8-4, 92.1, 114
Matt Rossman Sr. UC San Diego SP 2.37, 9-0, 91, 63
