LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The All-West Region team was released by D3baseball.com Monday and 10 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference players were recognized.
Highlighting the All-Region honors is Texas Lutheran University's Riley Schaefer and Nathan Malinovsky, who earned Player- and Pitcher-of-the-Year honors, respectively.
The Bulldogs also led the league with five players on the All-Region team, followed by two honorees from both Centenary College and Trinity University. The University of Dallas rounded out the group with the 10th player.
TLU's Tyler Cauley, Riley Schaefer, Dylan Drgac and Nathan Malinovsky earned first team honors.
Schaefer, a senior outfielder from Thorndale, Texas, has had an outstanding senior campaign, currently holding a .434 batting average, while slugging .657. Both marks rank second in the conference. Schaefer also leads the league in runs (60), hits (86) and total bases (130). For the season, he tallied 14 doubles, three triples and eight home runs. Earlier this spring, Schaefer was named the SCAC Player-of-the-Year.
Malinovsky, a junior pitcher from New Braunfels, Texas, was named the SCAC Pitcher-of-the-Year for the second time in his career after closing out the regular season with the conference's best ERA. After regional action, Malinovsky continues to top the conference leaderboard with an ERA of 1.34. He is also tied for the team lead with 11 wins this year, recording only one loss on the season and tallying two saves. Malinovsky's 98 strikouts rank second in the SCAC, behind only Drgac.
Cauley, a sophomore outfielder from Baytown, Texas, earned first team honors after another strong season. Cauley currently sits fifth in the league with a .384 batting average, while leading the conference in slugging percentage (.706), home runs (10), doubles (17) and RBI (60). His 68 hits this season rank second to Schaefer.
Drgac, a senior pitcher from Caldwell, Texas, has made his mark this season, helping the Bulldogs to a conference championship and a regional championship, working as both a starter and reliever on the mound. For the season, Drgac holds a 2.69 ERA and has posted a record of 11-1 with one save. His 108 strikeouts ranks sixth all-time in SCAC history for a single season mark.
Trinity placed two on second team, Rafe Chaumette and Jeff Lonnecker, while Centenary's Matthew Devillier rounded out the group.
Chaumette, a sophomore outfielder from Sugar Land, Texas, finished the season with a .392 batting average which ranks fourth in the league. He recorded 22 extra base hits, including five triples and four home runs, for a .596 slugging percentage. Chaumette scored 44 runs and drove in 47, both numbers that rank top three in the SCAC.
Lonnecker, a junior pitcher from Bellaire, Texas, ended his 2018 campaign with the second-best ERA in the league, 1.90. Going 47.1 innings on the mound, Lonnecker struck out 68 batters, averaging 12.93 per nine innings, which is the third-best mark in SCAC history for a single season. He closed out the season with a 4-0 record, while grabbing three saves.
Devillier, a junior pitcher from Lake Charles, La., earned the recognition after posting a 1.91 ERA this season, third-best in the SCAC. He led the league with three shutouts for the season, including two in conference play and earned six wins. Earlier this season, he recorded a nine inning no-hitter. This was the first for Centenary since joining Division III.
The third-team honorees include Nathan Patton of Dallas, Keaton Boysen of Texas Lutheran and Centenary's Cole Lavergne.
Patton, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, finished his season with a conference-best batting average of .450. This is tied for 20th all time in SCAC history for a single season and is the best mark in the conference since 2012. Patton recorded 63 hits in 140 at bats, while score 39 runs and driving in 43. He totaled 16 extra base hits for a slugging percentage of .600. He also reached base at a .521 clip, which leads the SCAC.
Boysen, a senior designated hitter from Scottsdale, Ariz., has made his mark this season, hitting .357 and slugging .541 with 19 runs and 22 RBI in just 109 plate appearances. Most recently, Boysen clinched the Bulldogs' regional championship with a walk-off RBI single to defeat Willamette in extra innings.
To see the full D3baseball.com release, click here.
