KUTZTOWN, PA (June 2, 2010) – The Kutztown University baseball team finished the 2010 season ranked fifth in the final National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NBCWA) Top 25 poll released Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Bears (42-15 overall) concluded a memorable season with their fifth trip to the NCAA Division II National Baseball Championship in Cary, N.C. and by winning the Atlantic Region title. The final national ranking is Kutztown's highest this season. Kutztown, which received 343 points, was ranked in every NCBWA poll during the 2010 season. Kutztown head coach Chris Blum became the winningest skipper in program history and won his 300th career game during a fun-filled season.
Kutztown went 1-2 at the NCAA Division II National Baseball Championships last week. The Golden Bears defeated Franklin Pierce, 2-1, in a 12-inning contest that took 9 hours, 11 minutes to finish thanks to three delays that totaled over five hours. The game and Brett Widger's single that scored Mike Kacelowicz (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) with the winning run earned a mention on ESPN's SportsCenter episode. The game against Franklin Pierce is believed to be the fourth longest non-suspended NCAA baseball game in history.
After the thrilling victory over FPU, the Golden Bears dropped a 6-1 decision to eventual national champion Southern Indiana and suffered a 6-2 defeat to Franklin Pierce in the consolation bracket.
Fueled by NCBWA first team All-American Shayne Houck's record breaking season, Kutztown posted its 17th consecutive winning season. Houck was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Athlete of the Year, and ABCA Rawlings Atlantic Region Player of the Year. Houck was named to the Daktronics All-American second team. He was also selected to the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first team, National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) All-Atlantic Region first team and earned a spot on the Atlantic-Region postseason all-tournament team.
He has posted numbers in his sophomore season that most players would dream to have in their career. He is batting .449 with 17 home runs, 74 runs scored and 77 RBIs which are all single season school records. Houck was also a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award, which is given to the best baseball player in the country.
However, several other Golden Bears produced strong seasons. Jared Frey (.389 batting average), Todd Rubendall (.366), Mike Dugan (.359), James Quigley (.356), Widger (.351), Brad Stoudt (.333), Johann Knee (.333) Kacelowicz (.319) and Matt Kulbacki(.310) all finished with batting averages above .300. Quigley drove in 50 runs. Kacelowicz enjoyed a team-high 14 game hitting streak and stole a team best 16 bases.
Senior pitcher Nathan Reed enjoyed a special season for the Golden Bears as well. He tossed a no-hitter on April 18 against Bloomsburg. However, in his biggest start of the season, Reed pitched eight scoreless innings against West Chester in the Atlantic Region final. Overall, Reed finished with a 2.60 earned run average, 71 strikeouts and a 6-4 record. Adam Maini (3.61 ERA) and Tyler Persun (3.88) also finished with earned run averages under four. Persun was a perfect 6-0 for Kutztown. Mike Bucklin led the Golden Bears with eight victories.
LIST OF INDIVIDUAL POSTSEASON HONORS
PSAC East
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (Player of the Year)
James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) (first team)
Mike Dugan (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) (first team)
Nathan Reed (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) (first team)
Jared Frey (Mohrsville, PA/Schuylkill Valley) (first team)
Mike Kacelowicz (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) (second team)
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region all-tournament team
Mike Kacelowicz (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) (MVP)
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown)
Mike Dugan (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City)
Corey Buletza (St. Clair, PA/Pottsville)
Nathan Reed (Oley, PA/Oley Valley)
NCBWA Atlantic Region
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (first team)
Nathan Reed (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) (second team)
James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) (honorable mention)
Mike Dugan (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) (honorable mention)
Jared Frey (Mohrsville, PA/Schuylkill Valley) (honorable mention)
ABCA/Rawlings Atlantic-Region
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (Player of the Year)
Chris Blum (Coach of the Year)
James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) (first team)
Nathan Reed (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) (second team)
Daktronics Atlantic Region
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (first team)
Nathan Reed (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) (first team)
James Quigley (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) (second team)
Daktronics All-American
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (second team)
NCBWA All-American
Shayne Houck (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) (first team)
