Jameson, Sebby Lead List Of 7 All-MAC Honorees
May 21, 2019 | Baseball
Jameson named MAC Pitcher of the Year; Sebby is Defensive Player of the Year
"Those are tremendous honors for Drey and Chase. Being the pitcher of the year and defensive player of the year in the league are things they'll always remember," head coach Rich Maloney said. "Both were very deserving of these honors. We talk a lot about team accomplishments, because that's what we're about. But for team accomplishments to happen, you need some individuals to have great years. And that's what happened on our ballclub."
MAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Jameson, a sophomore from Greenfield, Indiana, was voted as the league's top pitcher after a dominating season that saw him rank among the national leaders in strikeouts. Jameson finished the regular season with 136 strikeouts (3rd in the nation) to go along with his 5-3 record and 3.05 ERA. He started the season making national headlines when he threw 6 no-hit innings against Stanford and he continued to strike out batters at a high rate throughout the season. He struck out 16 in a win at Northern Illinois, 13 in a win over Kent State and 12 in a win over Bowling Green. Batters hit just .213 off Jameson for the season and he posted a 1.13 WHIP.
"Drey has had an outstanding season amidst all the attention he's received," Maloney said about his hard-throwing right-hander. "He's handled it in a classy manner and it's a tribute to his hard work and development."
Sebby, a redshirt junior from Huntington Beach, California, solidified himself as the league's best defensive catcher. Sebby threw out 15 base stealers and only made 3 errors and allowed 2 passed balls all season. He also called many pitches for the pitching staff that set BSU's single-season record with 587 strikeouts.
"Chase has been the leader of our team and he's done a stellar job behind the plate for us," Maloney said. "He's elevated our defense with his play and leadership. I'm excited for Chase and Drey and for our program to have them receive these honors."
Three Cardinals pitchers earned first team All-MAC honors: Jameson, fellow weekend ace John Baker and reliever Nick Floyd. Baker was among the best starting pitchers in the MAC, going 7-1 with a 2.33 ERA. He allowed batters to hit just .190 and led the league in ERA for much of the season. Baker also made history on May 11 when he pitched 7 innings of a combined no-hitter. Floyd, a senior from Elkhart, Indiana, emerged as BSU's closer and top long reliever. Floyd finished the season with a team-best 2.19 ERA and a 7-0 record and all 5 of his saves came in MAC play. He is on a current streak of 12.1 scoreless innings heading into the league tournament.
"The 3 pitchers all had outstanding seasons and they're a big reason why we have the record we have," Maloney said. "The year Johnny had was pitcher-of-the-year quality. And Nick Floyd put up some very impressive numbers as a senior."
Four Ball State hitters were named second team All-MAC: John Ricotta, William Baker, Ross Messina and Chase Sebby. Ricotta and William Baker were second-team picks at 1st and 2nd base, respectively. Messina was picked for right field and Sebby was an at-large selection.
Ricotta emerged as a feared power hitter in the conference, finishing the season with a .306 average and 9 home runs and 44 RBIs. In MAC play, Ricotta hit .346 with 16 extra-base hits and slugged .615.
"John's growth this year has been special to our program. For him to receive that award at 1st base is special," Maloney said. "You could make a case for him as defensive player of the year because he has been so stellar. For him to be second team showed tremendous growth and maturity."
Will Baker led the team in MAC play in average (.353) and hits (36) and played great wherever the team needed him.
"Will moving to 3rd base for part of the season and then being moved to 2nd base and being stellar there, it really boosted our team," Maloney said. "A lot of times when you lose a good player to injury like we did in Noah Navarro, you often miss a beat. But Will moving positions and playing as well as he did, it was tremendous and helped us. And the year he had hitting was phenomenal, hitting line drives all over the place."
Messina, a junior college transfer in his first BSU season, hit .330 in MAC play with 7 home runs. For the entire season, Messina hit .319 with 30 extra-base hits and a team-leading 49 RBIs.
"Ross was our No. 3 hitter coming in here from junior college, was nothing short of outstanding," Maloney said. "He settled in so well after changing positions and his hitting was excellent all year."
Below are the MAC baseball all-conference award winners. Ball State (36-17, 20-5 MAC) is the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament this week and will open its quest for a tournament title on Thursday night. All of the tournament games can be found on ESPN+.
Specialty Award Winners
Coach of the Year: Jordan Bischel, Central MichiganFreshman of the Year: Justin Kirby, OF, Kent State
Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami
Player of the Year: Rudy Rott, 1B, OhioÂ
Pitcher of the Year: Drey Jameson, RHP, Ball State
Defensive Player of the Year: Chase Sebby, C, Ball State
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2019 First Team All-MAC
C - Griffin Lockwood-Powell, Central Michigan1B - Rudy Rott, Ohio
2B - Landon Stephens, Miami
SS - Zavier Warren, Central Michigan
3B - Kian O'Brien, Kent State
OF - Ben Carew, Kent State
OF - Blake Dunn, Western Michigan
OF - Jacob Crum, Central Michigan
SP - Drey Jameson, Ball State
SP - Pat Leatherman, Central Michigan
SP - John Baker, Ball State
SP - Sam Bachman, Miami
RP - Nick Floyd, Ball State
DH - Cole Andrews, MiamiÂ
At-Large - Michael Turner, C, Kent State
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2019 Second Team All-MAC
C - Cal Elvers, Miami1B - John Ricotta, Ball State
2B - William Baker, Ball State
SS - Drew Devine, Western Michigan
3B - Zachary Owings, Eastern Michigan
OF - Brad Boss, Toledo
OF - Ross Messina, Ball State
OF - Cam Touchette, Kent State
SP - Cam Brown, Central Michigan
SP - Brady Miller, Western Michigan
SP - Eddie Kutt, Ohio
SP - Jack Corbell, Miami
RP - Luke Albright, Kent State
DH - Alex Ronnebaum, Kent State
At-Large - Chase Sebby, C, Ball State
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2019 All-Defensive Team
C - Chase Sebby, Ball State1B - John Ricotta, Ball State
2B - Riley Minorik, Bowling Green
SS - Neil Lambert, Bowling Green
3B - Zachary Owings, Eastern Michigan
OF - Ben Carew, Kent State
OF - Jake Wilson, Bowling Green
OF - Jacob Crum, Central Michigan
P - John Matthews, Kent State
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