Baseball | 5/12/2010 3:18:27 PM

MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon University baseball team dominated the Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason honors by taking four of the five special awards and nine of the 16 first team selections.

Kyle Boe and Jacob Pettit were named the GNAC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, while Daniel Dillard earned Newcomer of the Year and Jeremiah Robbins captured Coach of the Year.

Boe earned the GNAC's top offensive award after batting .365, including leading the conference with a .410 batting average in league games. The senior third baseman from Burlington, Wash. (Burlington-Edison HS/Skagit CC), was also ranked in the top five in the league in hits (t-second, 66), runs scored (t-third, 48), home runs (t-third, 7), triples (first, 3), runs batted in (t-fifth, 38), stolen bases (fifth, 12), total bases (fourth, 101), on-base percentage (third, .442) and slugging percentage (fourth, .558). Last season, Boe earned second team all-conference honors as an outfielder and this year he grabbed first team all-league as a third baseman.

Pettit, a lefty from Orting, Wash. (Orting HS/Green River CC), set a conference single-season record with a 1.80 earned run average, which included a 1.00 mark in seven GNAC starts. He finished the season 7-1 with a 20 consecutive inning scoreless streak and two complete game shutouts. Pettit tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts, and finished fourth in opponent batting average (.238) and ninth in strike outs (45). In his final performance of the season, Pettit set a career-high with 10 strike outs. This is the second consecutive season Pettit has earned first team All-GNAC.

Dillard, an outfielder from Olalla, Wash. (South Kitsap HS/Pierce CC), broke the Western Oregon school record and led the GNAC with 16 home runs this season. Dillard also led the conference in runs scored (tied-51), total bases (128) and slugging (.699). The junior also ranked among the leaders in batting average (third, .361), hits (t-second, 66), RBI (second, 47) and on-base percentage (.417). His 11 home runs in conference set a GNAC record.

Robbins earned the conference's coach of the year honor for the fifth straight year. He led WOU to a 34-15 record and a 28-4 mark in conference, which included a 23-game winning streak in the GNAC. Robbins now has a 175-85 record in his five seasons in Monmouth, including a 114-26 record in league games.

Joining Dillard, Boe and Pettit as unanimous all-conference selections on the first team were Blake Keitzman, Michael Ward, Grant Glover and Jason Moseby.

Keitzman, a senior lefty from Roseburg, Ore. (Roseburg HS/Oregon State), tied for the league lead with seven wins and placed fourth with a 3.84 ERA. He also paced the conference with eight shutouts and 9.12 strike outs per nine innings. Keitzman also earned unanimous first team all-conference honors as a junior.

Ward, a junior right handed pitcher from Eugene, Ore. (South Eugene HS), was the Wolves No. 1 pitcher for most of the season. He led the GNAC with 83 strike outs, 87.1 innings pitched and a .204 opponent batting average. Ward also finished second in the league with a 2.78 ERA. Ward was a first team All-GNAC selection in 2008 as a sophomore.

Glover, a junior second baseman McMinnville, Ore. (McMinnville HS/Mt. Hood CC), finished ninth in the league with a .342 batting average. He registered a hitting streak of 30 consecutive games and after taking over the leadoff role on Mar. 27, the Wolves posted a record of 24-4, which included a 23-game GNAC winning streak.

Jason Moseby, a senior outfielder from Bellevue, Wash. (Newport HS/Bellevue CC), finished fourth in the league with a .359 batting average. Moseby also ranked third in home runs (7) and doubles (16), while placing fourth in on-base percentage (.438) and second in slugging (.601). This was the second straight year Moseby has been named to the all-conference first team.

Also earning first team honors were Cesar Lopez and Devon Bouvier.

Lopez, a senior shortstop from Walla Walla, Wash. (DeSales Catholic HS/Walla Walla CC), ranked among the conference leaders in home runs (t-fifth, 6), doubles (fifth, 14), stolen bases (eighth, 8) and total bases (ninth, 80). This was the second first team all-conference honor for Lopez in his career (2008).

Bouvier, an outfielder from Kennewick, Wash. (Kennewick HS/Yakima Valley CC), took over a starting outfield role halfway through the season. He ended the year batting .358 with nine stolen bases and 21 RBI.

Kirk Lind and Garrett Breda both grabbed second team All-GNAC honors.

Lind, a sophomore from Vancouver, Wash. (Prairie HS), earned the relief pitcher honors on the second team. He went 5-5 out of the pen with four saves and 28 strike outs in 33 innings.

Breda, a catcher from Bothell, Wash. (Bothell HS/Everett CC), tied for sixth in the league with 13 doubles and was fifth with 21 walks. He also threw out 16 of 36 would-be base stealers and had a .991 fielding percentage.

Cody Reeves (Nine Mile Falls, Wash./Lakeside HS) was an all-conference honorable mention selection as well.

FIRST TEAM: Pitchers – +*Blake Keitzman, WOU (5-11, 180, Sr., Roseburg, OR); +*Jacob Pettit, WOU (6-3, 190, Sr., Orting, WA); +*Michael Ward, WOU (6-4, 230, Jr., Eugene, OR); Jesse Gwaltney, NNU (5-11, 200, Jr., Vancouver, WA). Relief Pitcher – Kalen Hruza, NNU (6-0, 206, Jr., Caldwell, ID).  Catcher –  +Jake Hammons, CWU (5-11, 185, Sr., Snohomish, WA).  First Base – *+Jon Keller, NNU (6-1, 200, Sr., Eugene, OR).    Second Base – +Grant Glover, WOU (5-9, 170, Jr., McMinnville, OR).  Shortstop -  *Cesar Lopez, WOU (5-10, 185, Sr., Walla Walla, WA).  Third Base  - +Kyle Boe, WOU (6-2, 210, Sr., Burlington, WA).     Infielder – Travis Jones, SMU (5-10, 220, So., Mililani, HI).  Designated Hitter  - +*Jason Moseby, WOU (6-3, 195, Sr., Bellevue, WA).  Outfielders – +Daniel Dillard, WOU (6-3, 200, Jr., Olalla, WA); +Sean McDonald, NNU (5-9, 165, So., Boise, ID); Devon Bouvier, WOU (6-2, 205, Sr., Kennewick, WA); Andrew Elke, SMU (5-7, 160, Jr., St. Charles, IL).  

 

 *Repeater  (Lopez and Ward from 2008) +Unanimous.

 

SECOND TEAM: Pitchers – Kody Kennedy, MSUB (5-10, 175, Jr., Butte, MT); Michael McIver, SMU (6-10, 235, Jr., Olympia, WA); James Douglas, SMU (6-0, 190, Jr., Rochester, WA).  Relief Pitcher – Kirk Lind, WOU (5-11, 215, So., Vancouver, WA).  Catcher – Garrett Breda, WOU (5-10, 175, Sr., Bothell, WA).  First Base – Greg Christensen, NNU (5-9, 215, Sr., Rupert, ID).  Second Base – Brian Dukart, MSUB (5-9, 170, Sr., Nine Mile Falls, WA); Ryan VanBeek, NNU (5-11, 220, Jr., Yakima, WA).  Shortstop – Cameron Louie, NNU (SS, 5-9, 165, Jr., Boise, ID).  Third Base – Josh Grenier, SMU (5-10, 180, So., Tumwater, WA).  Designated Hitter – Kevin Walkenhauer, CWU (6-1, 175, Sr., Yakima, WA).  Outfielders – Ty Windall, NNU (5-8, 155, Jr., Davis, CA); Anthony Sanelli, CWU (5-10, 175, Sr., Carnation, WA); Ricky McKinney, CWU (6-1, 200, Sr., Aberdeen, WA).

 

HONORABLE MENTION: Pitchers – J.T. Brodrick (6-6, 205, Jr., Casper, WY).  Catcher – Connor Rankin, NNU (6-2, 220, Sr., Lake Forest Park, WA); Luke Abbott, SMU (6-0, 230, Sr., Winlock, WA).   First Base – Cody Reeves, WOU (5-10, 170, Sr., Nine Mile Falls, WA).  Shortstop – Matt Schoonover, MSUB (5-11, 185, Sr., Great Falls, MT).  Third Base – Jaret Chatwood, MSUB (5-10, 175, Jr., Red Deer, ALB); Joel Oliver (6-0, 215, Sr., Menifee, CA); Kevin Schneider, CWU (5-11, 190, Sr., Spokane, WA).  Designated Hitter – Jordan Kessler, MSUB (5-9, 180, Jr., Broomfield, CO); Michael McIver, SMU (6-10, 235, Jr., Olympia, WA).   Outfielders  - Chris Round, MSUB (6-1, 210, Sr., Billings, MT); Chance Plutt, CWU (5-11, 195, Jr., Dillon, MT).

 

SPECIAL AWARDS: Player of the Year – Kyle Boe, Western Oregon.   Pitcher of the Year – Jacob Pettit, Western Oregon.  Newcomer of the Year – Daniel Dillard, Western Oregon.  Freshman of the Year – Zeb Sneed, Northwest Nazarene.  Coach of the Year – Jeremiah Robbins, Western Oregon.