Ahead of the 2019 Great Midwest Athletic Conference baseball championship, the Kentucky Wesleyan College baseball team landed seven All-G-MAC selections on Tuesday night.
Devin Smith was named the Pitcher of the Year along with a First Team selection. Alex Franzen was also named to the First Team, while Chase Andrews, Lane Kennemore and Joey Lara received Second Team honors. Brayden Sisson and Zach Burton were both named Honorable Mention.
Smith was unbeaten on the year, going 8-0 in 11 starts. The junior led the conference in strikeouts, earned run average, opponents batting average and hits allowed. Smith’s ERA of 1.74 ranks 15th in the nation while a WHIP of 0.94 ranks 16th in the nation. Smith accumulated 86 strikeouts in 67.1 innings while allowing 16 runs. Smith tabbed a season-high 13 strikeouts against regionally-ranked Malone last week, a mark good for third in the Kentucky Wesleyan record books for strikeouts in a single game.
Franzen, also a pitcher, led the team with five saves, ranking sixth in the G-MAC. The junior struck out 16 in 13.2 innings of work in 12 appearances.
Andrews ranked fifth in the G-MAC with 16 doubles. The junior catcher hit .322 on the year with 13 multi-hit games. Andrews led the Panthers with a slugging percentage of .570 after raking 48 hits including seven home runs.
Kennemore boasted a .331 batting average with 47 hits and 11 doubles. The junior shortstop scored 35 runs on the year while driving in 20. Kennemore was hit by a pitch 16 times, a mark good for second in the conference and 31st in the nation.
Lara, another junior pitcher, held a 1.44 ERA while giving up just five runs in 25.0 innings of work. Lara tabbed 25 strikeouts while picking up two wins and one save on the year.
Sisson led the Panthers with a .352 batting average. The junior drove in 40 runs and scored 40 himself before suffering a season-ending injury in the final week of the regular season. Sisson tabbed 56 hits including 16 doubles, two triples and four home runs. The 16 doubles puts Sisson 65th in the nation and fifth in the conference, while 40 RBIs puts him ninth in the G-MAC.
Burton, a senior pitcher who went to Daviess County High School, went 4-3 season on the mound. The senior posted a 3.96 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Burton held opponents to a .243 batting average, a mark good for fifth in the conference.
