Kyle Chontos, Hunter Handel, Mark Zimmerman, Eric Murphy, Zach Ferster, Cole Nieto and Evan Lovick
Posted: May 08, 2015
BEREA, Ohio – Seven members of the fifth-nationally ranked and school-record setting Baldwin Wallace University baseball team have been selected as All-Ohio Athletic Conference.
Senior All-American first baseman Kyle Chontos (Pickerington/North), junior designated hitter Hunter Handel (Akron/Green) and junior pitcher/third baseman Mark Zimmerman (Akron/Green) led the group as all were selected to the first-team. Senior outfielder Zach Ferster (Olmsted Falls), senior shortstop Eric Murphy (Brook Park/Midpark) and sophomore second baseman Cole Nieto (Brunswick/St. Ignatius) were named to the second team. Freshman pitcher Evan Lovick (Mentor) earned honorable mention honors.
Chontos, who garners his third career All-OAC honor, was named to the first-team for the second consecutive year. He was selected as a second-team ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association)/ Rawlings Division III All-American, second-team ABCA/ Rawlings and D3Baseball.com All-Mideast Region and honorable mention D3Baseball.com All-American pick during his junior campaign. This season, Chontos is batting .352 with 14 doubles, one triple, three homeruns, 43 runs scored and 37 runs batted-in (RBIs). He leads the team with 25 walks and is tied for second in doubles and is second in runs scored. Chontos has swiped 12 bases in 14 attempts. He was named the as the Kenneth Steingass Most Outstanding Male Athlete. For his career, Chontos is the school record holder in games played with 171, at-bats with 649, doubles with 56, runs scored with 158, RBIs with 154 walks with 95 and putouts with 1,202. He also holds the school single season record for doubles with 19 and games played with 50. Chontos has a career batting average of .347.
Chontos, who garners his third career All-OAC honor, was named to the first-team for the second consecutive year. He was selected as a second-team ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association)/ Rawlings Division III All-American, second-team ABCA/ Rawlings and D3Baseball.com All-Mideast Region and honorable mention D3Baseball.com All-American pick during his junior campaign. This season, Chontos is batting .352 with 14 doubles, one triple, three homeruns, 43 runs scored and 37 runs batted-in (RBIs). He leads the team with 25 walks and is tied for second in doubles and is second in runs scored. Chontos has swiped 12 bases in 14 attempts. He was named the as the Kenneth Steingass Most Outstanding Male Athlete. For his career, Chontos is the school record holder in games played with 171, at-bats with 649, doubles with 56, runs scored with 158, RBIs with 154 walks with 95 and putouts with 1,202. He also holds the school single season record for doubles with 19 and games played with 50. Chontos has a career batting average of .347.
Handel, who earns his second straight first-team accolade, leads the team in homeruns with six and RBIs with 47. He was a second-team ABCA/ Rawlings All-Mideast Region, third-team D3Baseball.com All-Mideast Region and was named to the OAC All-Tournament Team last season. Handel is batting .361 with 11 doubles and 15 walks. In his three seasons, Handel is batting .357 with 21 doubles, three triples, and 10 homeruns, 58 runs scored, 100 RBIs and 31 walks.
Zimmerman, who garnered his third consecutive first-team honor, was named to the 2015 OAC Tournament all-tourney team. He leads the team in triples with five and is tied for first in runs scored with 44. Zimmerman is second in hitting at .386, total bases with 97, RBIs with 41 and is tied for second in doubles with 14. He has also pitched 58 innings on the mound and has a record of 5-2 with 59 strikeouts and 27 walks with an earned run average of 3.72. For his career, Zimmerman has appeared in 126 games, including 18 appearances on the mound. He is the school record-holder for at-bats in a season with 217.
Zimmerman has a career batting average of .367 with 37 doubles, nine triples, seven homeruns and 108 RBIs. He has a lifetime 3.98 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 40 walks in 74.2 innings pitched.
Ferster, who garners his second career OAC honor, was a first-team selection as a freshman. He is batting a.343 with career-highs in hits with 46, doubles with 10, runs scored with 37 and hit by pitches with eight. Ferster, who is an outstanding student that carries a 3.45 grade point average, is a two-time Academic All-OAC selection. He has a career-batting average of .314 with 25 doubles, eight triples, two homeruns, 108 runs scored, 73 RBIs, 64 walks, 52 stolen bases and 23 hit by pitches. Ferster is tied for the school record in highest stolen base percentage in a season with 100 percent, as he was a perfect 18-for-18 as a sophomore.
Murphy, who earns his first career OAC accolade, leads the team in assists with 157. He is batting .302 with a 10 doubles, four triples, 23 RBIs and 17 walks. Murphy was selected to the OAC All-Tournament Team last season and is a two-time recipient of the BW Golden Glove Award. For his career, Murphy is the school record holder in games played in a season with 50, assists in a season with 157 and career assists with 511. He is a career .297 hitter with 34 doubles, 14 triples, two homeruns, 110 runs scored, 128 RBIs and 69 walks.
Nieto, who garners his first career honor, is the team leader in batting average at .387, at-bats with 173, hits with 67, doubles with 15 and total bases with 105. He is tied for second in triples with four and is second in homeruns with five and RBIs with 40. Nieto is in his first season as a starter and also has been named the OAC Hitter of the Week. In two seasons, he is batting .395 with 190 at-bats, 75 hits,17 doubles, four triples, five homeruns, 46 runs scored, 47 RBIs, 14 walks and six stolen bases.
Lovick, who earns his first OAC accolade, has made 10 appearances on the mound with seven starts. He has a record of 5-1 with a 3.74 ERA. Lovick has recorded 28 strikeouts and 14 walks in 43.1 inning pitched.
BW (31-10) set the school record for wins in a season for the fourth straight season.