ERIE, Pa. – Six Penn State Behrend baseball players were named to the 2018 All-Conference Team, including one first-team choice, four second-team selections, and one on the third team.
Senior pitcher Jack Herzing (St. Mary's, PA/Elk County Catholic) was the lone Lion on the first team. On the year, Herzing ranked third in the nation in strikeouts, sitting down 109 batters in his 11 appearances on the mound. He led the conference in innings pitched (69.1), strikeouts (109), and was third with a 3.12 ERA. Earlier in the season, Herzing threw a no-hitter where he struck out 15 of the 21 batters he faced. After setting a new Behrend school record for most strikeouts in his career, currently sitting at 296 K's, he tabbed AMCC and ECAC Pitcher of the Week, D3baseball.com honors, as well as National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III National Pitcher of the Week.
Seniors Alex Hajduk (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) and David Boehme (Venetia, PA/Seton-La Salle), along with juniors Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) and Justin Foreman (Oakdale, PA/South Fayette) highlighted Behrend on the second team. Hajduk played the best baseball of his career this past season, fanning a career-high 67 batters against only 11 walks while also holding an unprecedented, conference-leading 8-1 record on the bump for the Lions. Hajduk ranked fifth in the conference with a 3.69 ERA while also pitching the second-most innings (68.1) in the AMCC. His 67 strikeouts are the second-most in the conference, only behind teammate Herzing.
Boehme was first in the conference in runs batted in with 60, which was also ninth in the country, 33 of which came in conference play. This season, he has had 18 multiple hits games, and led Behrend with his 13 multiple RBI games. In the playoff victory over Penn State Altoona, he notched his 150th career RBI with a double in the first inning. Boehme posted a .716 slugging percentage in the AMCC, and has also made his mark on the mound, notching the third-most saves with three. He paced the Lions in RBIs (60), doubles (25), and is tied for second with six home runs. In addition, he holds a .976 clip in the field. Earlier in the season, Boehme hit four homeruns that led the Lions to an AMCC double-header sweep against Medaille. He ended the year on an 11-game hitting streak.
Shortstop Sada was top five in the AMCC in nine different categories. He was second in runs scored with 57, second with 21 doubles, and held the second-highest batting average at .459, which also ranked ninth in the country. Sada was also second in hits (73), third in slugging percentage (.767), third in RBIs (47), fourth in on-base percentage (.521), fourth in stolen bases (16) and fifth with five triples. In the last game of the season, he posted his 200th hit of his career with a single against Pitt-Greensburg. Sada led the Lions with 21 multiple hit games.
Third baseman Foreman recorded the third-best slugging percentage on the squad this season, hitting at a .571 clip. In addition to that, the power house was first for the Lions, and ranked fifth in the AMCC, with seven home runs on the year. Foreman ended his junior campaign with 43 hits, 36 RBIs, 12 doubles and held a .323 batting average.
Lastly, Mason McGuire (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) made his first All-AMCC appearance with third-team honors. He was instrumental in the Lions success throughout the season. He registered the second-most runs scored (39) and third-most stolen bases on the team (9), while also tying for third on the squad in triples with one. McGuire has also posted the third-most hits and doubles for the Lions with 54 and 14, respectively.
