MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Senior pitcher Taylor Henry of Centenary College and Head Coach Tim Scannell of Trinity University both took home major accolades from d3baseball.com as they highlighted seven student-athletes on the SCAC All-West Region Team. Full Release
Henry, along with Trinity juniors Jeremy Wolf, Colin Serkowski, and Ryan Gray, as well as junior outfield Will Cates of Southwestern were named to first team All-West Team. Texas Lutheran seniors Aaron Aleman and Tony Gennusa earned a spot on the second team.
Henry, who was named SCAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-SCAC, closed his Gents’ career as the leader in saves (17), fourth in career wins (18), strikeouts (202) and eighth in innings pitched (217.2).
The senior hurler led the conference in strikeouts (85) and saves (9) and was second in ERA (1.59). He helped lead Centenary the program to its second, SCAC regular title in three seasons and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament en route to a 24-17 mark and 15-3 in the SCAC.
The Tigers of Trinity are 37-12 this season under Coach Scannell's leadership, winning their 10th SCAC Championship by winning through the loser's bracket, and will make the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Championships this weekend in Appleton, Wisconsin. Trinity went 4-0 and won the NCAA West Regional in Tyler, Texas, this past weekend, advancing to the Division III World Series for the first time in school history.
The West Regional's Most Outstanding Player, Jeremy Wolf, is a two-time All-SCAC selection, and is leading the Tigers in doubles and on-base percentage - having drawn a team-best 32 walks this season. He is also second on the team in batting average, but leads Trinity in hits.
In his first season as a starter, Serkowski leads all Tiger players in runs scored this season, is second in stolen bases, and third in batting average. He also earned All-SCAC honors as well as SCAC All-Tournament Team.
Gray has been Trinity's best pitcher this season, leading the Tigers with an 8-0 record and a 1.72 ERA in 13 appearances. He also leads the Tigers with 70 strikeouts in 62.2 innings, and is holding opponents to a .136 batting average. He was an All-SCAC selection and also earned a spot on both the SCAC All-Tournament and West Regional Teams.
Cates was named the SCAC Player of the Year earlier this year. A junior outfielder from Cy Fair, Texas, Cates is led the SCAC in nearly every offensive category. He was tops in batting average (.405), hits (64), triples (eight), total bases (104), slugging percentage (.658), runs scored (48) and stolen bases (29). He is also in the top 10 in the league in doubles (9 – seventh), home runs (5 – third), runs batted in (36 – third) and on-base percentage (.438 – fifth).
Aleman led TLU in nearly every statistical pitching category, including innings pitched (91.0), strikeouts (74), wins (7) and ERA (1.98). He put together one of the best midseason stretches you'll ever see, notching a 28-inning shutout streak that spanned over three starts and included two complete games. One of those complete-game shutouts came against Trinity.
Gennusa led the team with a .370 batting average, while his 44 runs was second best in the SCAC. He started the season scorching hot, getting a hit in each of the first 16 games and batting .425 during that stretch. He finished second on the team with a .519 slugging percentage, and led the team with 14 stolen bases. He finished his TLU career third on the all-time career steals list (58).
The 42-member All-Region squad is nominated by the Sports Information Directors and voted on by a committee from around the region. The 2015 season marks the fourth year that D3baseball.com has named All-Region teams, with 800 players nominated.