FULL ALL-GNAC BASEBALL RELEASE

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Oregon baseball program had league-high 10 players selected to the 2017 All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) teams, with two players and head coach Kellen Walker earning three of the five special awards recognized by the league head coaches.
 
The announcement of the postseason honors was made by the conference office Tuesday afternoon ahead of the 2017 GNAC Baseball Championships at neutral-site Porter Park in Portland.
 
Walker was named GNAC Coach of the Year, utility player Connor McCord earned Freshman of the Year and junior infielder Nyles Nygaard was named league Newcomer of the Year. Three Wolves were chosen to the All-GNAC First Team in junior pitcher Brady Miller, sophomore catcher Justin Wakem and junior second baseman Jay Leverett. Five teammates merited spots on the All-GNAC Second Team – freshman pitcher Kade Mechals, senior pitcher Trey Smith, Nygaard at third base, senior designated hitter Joey Crunkilton and senior outfielder Brock Pradere. McCord and junior outfielder Jacob Martinez picked up All-GNAC honorable mention.
 
Of the 10, Miller is a back-to-back first-teamer and a three-time All-GNAC selection. Leverett is a two-time honoree after an honorable mention a year ago. The remaining eight all garnered first-time accolades.
 
Walker warranted his second career Coach of the Year award (2013) after leading the Wolves to a GNAC title for the second time in his tenure and the program's 14^th league title in the last 17 years. Walker's Wolves posted a 28-15 overall record and won the league by four and a half games with a 27-12 conference mark despite not playing a true home game until the final weekend. The head coach also reached a milestone with his 100^th win in GNAC play on March 25 in an 8-1 road victory against Saint Martin's in Ravensdale, Wash.
 
McCord adapted to the starting pitching rotation and playing first base nearly every day after beginning the season in a reserve role both on the mound and at the plate. He became a starter on March 25 pitching 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball and then made his debut in the starting lineup on March 31. McCord has started 27 of his 34 games leading the club and league in WHIP (walks and hits to innings pitched) at 1.09 and opponent batting average with a .210 clip. He is one of 10 WOU players above the .300-mark hitting .318 with a pair of doubles and 24 runs batted in. He has struck out only four times in 85 at-bats while walking 11 times and has reached base safely in 22 straight games. McCord is the sixth WOU player to earn GNAC Freshman of the Year, joining teammate Brady Miller who earned the award in 2015.
 
Nygaard paced WOU with 33 runs batted in, 48 overall hits, four triples (tied for the GNAC lead) and 70 total bases in his first season in Monmouth after playing at the University of Washington. He is hitting .327 entering the GNAC Baseball Championships with eight doubles and two home runs. Nygaard has the longest hitting streak of any Western Oregon player with a current 19-game streak and is tied atop the list of multiple hits games with 13. He is the 10^th player to secure Newcomer of the Year and the second consecutively after current assistant coach Trevor Podratz won the award in 2016.
 
Miller is second in the GNAC, behind McCord, in opponent's batting average at .226 as he has a 4-2 record in nine starts, including a complete game against Saint Martin's with eight strikeouts. He had a season-high nine strikeouts over six innings against Montana State Billings for his first win on March 4. Miller repeated as a member of the All-GNAC First Team with a season ERA of 3.83 after earning a spot as a freshman on the Second Team mainly in a relief role.
 
Wakem has started 27 of 32 games played in his second season in WOU colors. He is hitting a team-best .367 among the regulars, earning the starting catching spot, with 13 runs, five doubles and a .434 on-base percentage. He is tied atop the league statistics with 11 runners caught stealing in 32 attempts for the season. Wakem had eight multi-hit games with a season-high four hits in the series finale at CWU on April 29.
 
Leverett has been the ultimate constant for the Wolves starting every game at second base during the regular season, and is hitting .308 with team-bests in runs (37), home runs (4) and overall sacrifices (19). His 15 sacrifice bunts are a GNAC high and rank fourth in Division II. Leverett is tied with Nygaard with 13 multiple-hit games and enters the postseason reaching base safely in 12 consecutive games. Defensively, Leverett has committed just two errors in 190 total chances while contributing to 27 double plays.
 
Mechals, in his freshman campaign, is the GNAC leader with seven saves in 15 appearances for Western Oregon. He earned a two-inning save with three strikeouts in his collegiate debut on Feb. 9 at Fresno Pacific. His 37 strikeouts are second on the team while holding opposing batters to a .173 batting average.
 
Smith never failed to get through the fifth inning in each of his eight starts. He is 4-2 on the year with consecutive seven-inning complete game victories and a 3.58 earned run average. Smith has thrown a team-high 48.1 innings allowing just 49 hits with 31 strikeouts.
 
Crunkilton has 30 starts in 35 games in his final season in WOU colors. He is hitting .303 with a team-best 26 walks and .515 slugging percentage. He ranks second on the team with three triples and three home runs. Crunkilton heads to the GNAC Championships with a 13-game on-base streak.
 
Pradere is hitting .308 in 38 overall games with 37 starts in the outfield. He is the GNAC leader with 21 stolen bases in 26 attempts and had the third longest team streaks with a 10-game hitting string and 17-game on-base streak.
 
Martinez is the owner of the second-longest hitting streak of the season at 13 games and paced the Wolves with 10 games with at least two RBIs. He is hitting .313 with 26 runs and a team0leading 14 doubles.
 
Billy King of Northwest Nazarene was named GNAC Player of the Year and Mackenzie Gaul of Central Washington was named Pitcher of the Year.
 
The top-seeded Wolves open the four-team, double-elimination GNAC Baseball Championships against fourth-seeded Montana State Billings in primetime on Wednesday, May 10, with first pitch at 7 p.m. at Porter Park.