ERIE, Pa. – Six members of the Penn State Behrend baseball team have been named to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) team, announced on Tuesday.
Four Lions were honored on the first-team, including Ryan Jacobs (Port Vue, PA/South Alleghany), Matt Bittner (Lancaster, NY/St. Mary's), Ryan Kragnes (Bethel Park), and Evan Bukowski (Washington, PA/Trinity).
For the second time in his career, Jacobs was named All-Conference. The junior hurler was dominant all season, leading the team in wins (6) and strikeouts (71). Jacobs has an outstanding 11.02 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
Kragnes was awarded first-team honors for the second consecutive season. Kragnes was a threat every time he stepped in the box. The junior center fielder recorded 51 hits and scored 48 runs. Kragnes led the team with an on base percentage of .494 and broke the school record for stolen bases in a season. Kragnes was an unprecedented 33-for-34.
Two more juniors rounded out the first team for the Lions. Bittner had a monster year, leading Behrend in hits (59), doubles (20), triples (5), home runs (5), RBIs (46), and slugging percentage (.680). The third baseman started every game and earned all-conference recognition for the third straight season. A year after earning second-team accolades as a catcher, Bukowski transitioned to the outfield. Bukowski recorded 39 hits, scored 32 runs, and drove in 18 runs.
Sophomore relief pitcher Chad Zurat (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) earned second-team honors after posting a 2-2 record. Zurat struck out 45 batters in 33 innings to go with an earned run average of 1.09. Zurat currently has seven saves, tying the single-season school record.
Finishing out the post-season awards is Ryan Geibel (East Butler, PA/Butler). The senior catcher recorded 51 hits, 15 doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Geibel drove in 41 runs and scored 21 runs while leading the team behind the plate.
The Lions earned an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Tournament bid and will host Waynesburg tomorrow at 2 p.m.
