ERIE, Pa. – Eight members of the Penn State Behrend baseball team have been named to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Team when it was announced on Wednesday afternoon. The Lions had one player named to the league's first team, three landed on the second and four were recognized on the third team.
Sophomore center fielder and lead-off hitter Ryan Kragnes was the lone choice for first-team honors. He leads the team in runs (45) and stolen bases (26-for-29), while tying for first in multiple hit games with 17. Kragnes is tied for third in hits (48) and is batting .397 heading into the ECAC Tournament this weekend.
Catcher Evan Bukowski, right fielder Geoff Lang and designated hitter Ryan Geibel were selected to the second team.
Bukowski is earning All-AMCC honors for the first time. His 198 putouts and .977 fielding percentage ranks second on the team. Batting mainly from the six spot, the sophomore knocked in 30 runs on 44 hits and collected his first collegiate home run in the win over Medaille on Apr. 27.
Lang was named to the second team for the third time in his career. The senior is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak, the longest by any player this season. Lang, who is nationally ranked third in triples and fourth in triples per game among Division III statistical leaders, is hitting .359 on the season. He ranks second on the team in hits (52), runs (39) and RBIs (38). This season, Lang broke the school and AMCC record for most triples in a season with nine. He also smacked six doubles and three home runs.
Geibel, a second-team choice a year ago, recorded 24 hits including six doubles for the Lions this season. The junior scored 15 runs and drove in 22 others. Geibel posted his best performance against Pitt-Greensburg, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles.
Third baseman Matt Bittner, short stop Ed Kessler, left fielder Blake Pavlik and pitcher Mike Moyer received third-team accolades.
Despite ranking in the conference's top 10 in multiple categories, Bittner was named to the third team after being a second-team pick last season. The sophomore leads the team in batting average (.419), hits (57), RBIs (51), doubles (12) and home runs (5). Bittner ties Kragnes for most multiple hit games with 17 and leads in multiple RBI contests with 13. He recently earned NCBWA Division III National Player of the Week honors for batting .625 and cranking out three crucial home runs in four wins for Behrend.
The third-team nod is the second for Kessler. He was named an honorable mention in 2009. Kessler's .324 batting average is good for sixth on the team. He is second in doubles with 10 and is fourth in hits (46). Kessler joins Bittner in being the only players to start every game this season. He drove in 17 runs and stole eight bases.
Pavlik had his best season in a Lions uniform to earn him All-AMCC third team. The senior ranks second on the team in batting average (.407), hits (48), doubles (10) and triples (3). Pavlik had 15 multiple hit games, including two four-hit contests. He is on a six-hit streak, his longest of the season.
Moyer spent 52.2 innings on the mound this season, posting a 4.27 ERA to go along with a 3-2 record. The sophomore completed two games and started in eight out of 11 appearances. Moyer struck out a third-best 35 batters and walked 13.
