Ball State University Athletics
American Baseball Coaches Association Honors Three Cardinals
June 27, 2005 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The American Baseball Coaches Association and Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone, chairman of the NCAA Mideast Region All-American Committee, have announced the 2005 ABCA & Rawlings NCAA All-Mideast Region Selections. Of the 26 players selected to the first and second teams, Ball State placed second on the list with three honorees. Senior closer Erik Morrison (Hanover, Ind./Southwestern H.S.) was named to the first team, while junior second baseman Kyle Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola H.S.) and junior outfielder Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) were named to the second team. In addition, Morrison was named to the 2005 ABCA & Rawlings NCAA All-America Third Team.
Morrison, who recently signed a free agent contract with the New York Yankees organization and is playing for the Class-A short-season Staten Island Yankees, finished the 2005 regular season with an NCAA-leading 15 saves. The 2005 Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year and All-MAC First Team selection, Morrison was a finalist for the first-ever National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. In addition to earning ABCA & Rawlings All-America honors, he was named to the Louisville Slugger All-America Second Team earlier this month.
Morrison finished the 2005 season with a league-leading and school record 15 saves, which currently tie him for third in the nation. In addition to his save total, Morrison tallied a perfect 7-0 record in 28 appearances this past season. Over 41.0 innings of work, he posted a team-best 1.32 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a team-best .208 batting average. He chalked up 41 strikeouts, while allowing just 12 walks.
Dygert picked up second-team all-region honors after being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team and All-MAC First Team. An ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V selection and Academic All-MAC honoree, Dygert was named MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week (April 28) after compiling an .800 (8-for-10) batting average the previous week, including a career-high five hits in the Cardinals' 17-4 rout of instate rival Indiana (April 19).
Dygert's .355 season batting average ranked sixth in the MAC, while his 76 hits ranked fourth in the league. In MAC-only contests, Dygert also ranked sixth in batting with a .396 average. In addition, he ranked fourth in on base percentage (.474), tied for fourth in hits (33) and tied for seventh in runs scored (22).
During the 2005 campaign, Dygert drove in five game-winning RBI, including the winning run in the Cardinals' 11-inning thriller over Bowling Green in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. He also scored four game-winning runs. A starter in 55 of BSU's 56 games, Dygert tied Sullivan with the team's longest hitting streak of the season - - 14 games - - and topped the club in games with two-or-more hits (25).
Sullivan was named to the All-Mideast Region Second Team after earning All-MAC First Team accolades and ranking third on the team and eighth in the league with a .353 batting average. He was named the MAC Co-Player of the Week (May 16) after batting .600 (12-for-20) in four games the previous week. In addition to his top-10 league batting average, Sullivan placed second in the conference in hits (82), tied for second in runs scored (57), tied for third in doubles (19) and tied for eighth in stolen bases (15).
During the 2005 season, Sullivan paced the Cardinals with nine game-winning runs. He also drove in five game-winning RBI. A starter in all 56 games for the Cardinals, Sullivan posted a career-best 14-game hitting streak, which tied Dygert for the team's longest hitting streak of the season.
