Bogus Smith Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 ORU's Serrano Named Summit League Player and Pitcher of the Year Courtesy: The Summit League ELMHURST, Ill. - The Summit League’s regular-season champion and top seed in the tournament, Oral Roberts, led the league with nine selections to the baseball all-league teams. Centenary had six student-athletes receiving honors, while South Dakota State and Southern Utah each landed two on the all-league teams. North Dakota State and Oakland both placed two on the squads, while Western Illinois collected one honoree. ORU’s Mark Serrano swept both major awards, capturing the Player and Pitcher of the Year honors. Seth Furmanek from ORU was named Newcomer of the Year and the Golden Eagles’ head coach Rob Walton collected the Coach of the Year award for the third time in four years. Serrano, a senior starting pitcher, collected the Player and Pitcher of the Year awards after leading the league with a perfect 9-0 record, including a 5-0 ledger in league contests. The Budd Lake, N.J., native collected a league-low 2.38 ERA in all games and a 1.54 ERA in league games. A three-time Pitcher of the Week selection, Serrano struck out 107 batters in 72.0 innings of work against only 19 walks, while opponents hit only .187 at the plate against him on the year. Of his seven starts on the season, three were complete games and two were shutouts. Serrano ranks second in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings with 13.38, while the Golden Eagles pitching staff is first in that same category with a 10.7 team average. Furmanek earned Newcomer of the Year honors after hitting .425 (31-for-73) in league contests with 10 home runs. The first-year catcher for the Golden Eagles also batted .340 (54-for-159) in all games with 15 home runs and 56 RBI. The Gilbert, Ariz., native led the league with a .932 slugging percentage in league games and also collected a .500 on-base percentage with 68 total bases in 18 contests. Furmanek had 11 doubles on the year and two triples en route to capturing a pair of Player of the Week awards. In his sixth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles’ program, Walton was named The Summit League Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. This season he guided Oral Roberts to a 28-13 overall record and 16-2 league mark to win the program’s 12th consecutive regular season title. His team led The Summit League in all the major statistical categories for league games including batting average (.373), on-base percentage (.474), slugging percentage (.649), ERA (2.97) and strikeouts (203). Walton also led Team USA to a gold medal with a perfect 24-0 record last summer. FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE Name, School Pos. Yr. Hometown Stephen Turner, SDSU 1B Sr. Torrance, Calif. Keli’i Zablan, SUU 2B Sr. Ewa Beach, Hawai’i Jesse Sawyer, SDSU 3B So. Calgary, Alberta Juan Martinez, ORU SS Jr. Bakersfield, Calif. Seth Furmanek, ORU C Jr. Gilbert, Ariz. Nick Freitas, SUU OF Sr. Honolulu, Hawai’i P.J. Sequeira, ORU OF Jr. Petaluma, Calif. Justin Wilson OF Sr. Blissfield, Mich. Johnny Roberts, ORU DH Sr. Pryor, Okla. Tony Martin, SDSU UTL Sr. Omaha, Neb. Andre Lamontagne, ORU SP Sr. Santa Monica, Calif. Mark Serrano, ORU SP Sr. Downey, Calif. Jerry Sullivan, ORU SP Jr. Budd Lake, N.J. Chris LaLonde, CC RP Sr. Sammamish, Wash. SECOND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE Name, School Pos. Yr. Hometown Tell Ross, CC 1B Jr. Troup, Texas Tommy Jablonski, OU 2B So. Rochester, Mich. Drew Laidig, WIU 3B Sr. Pleasantville, Iowa Ricky Imperiali, CC SS Sr. Oceanside, Calif. Justin Kline, NDSU C Fr. Aberdeen, S.D. Joel Blake, SDSU OF So. Langley, British Columbia Tyler Garewal, ORU OF Jr. Bakersfield, Calif. Travis Leversen, CC OF Jr. Temecula, Calif. Michael Tompkins, CC DH Jr. College Place, Wash. Chester Wilson, SUU UTL Sr. Honolulu, Hawai’i Steve Johnson, SUU SP Jr. Lakewood, Colo. Justin Kraft, CC SP So. Yakima, Wash. John Straka, NDSU SP Fr. Chaska, Minn. Jeff Burleson, ORU RP Jr. Bakersfield, Calif. PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts PITCHER OF THE YEAR Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Seth Furmanek, Oral Roberts COACH OF THE YEAR Rob Walton, Oral Roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 ORU swept the top honors - PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts PITCHER OF THE YEAR Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Seth Furmanek, Oral Roberts COACH OF THE YEAR Rob Walton, Oral Roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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