Horizon League Announces 2019 #HLBASE All-League Teams and Award Winners
INDIANAPOLIS – Wright State’s Peyton Burdick has been named the Horizon League Baseball Player of the Year and teammate Tyler Black earned Freshman of the Year, while UIC’s Jacob Key collected Pitcher of the Year and teammate Alex Padilla claimed Relief Pitcher of the Year as voted on by the League’s head coaches as the Horizon League announced its #HLBASE All-League honors on Tuesday. In addition, Coach of the Year went to WSU’s first-year coach Alex Sogard.
Burdick is the second consecutive WSU player to win Player of the Year and the seventh Raider all-time to take home the honor. The redshirt junior hit .395 on the year with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs, while scoring 74 runs and stealing 23 bases. He leads the Horizon League in batting average, hits, doubles, on-base percentage and walks and is top-5 in 11 offensive categories. Burdick also ranks top-25 in the NCAA in batting average, RBIs, runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks. During Horizon League play, the Ohio native hit an HL-best .432, while also leading the League in on-base percentage (.528), hits (48) and doubles (11).
Key is the third UIC player in a row to earn Pitcher of the Year and the fourth Flame in five years to pick up the award. The junior posted a 3.12 ERA in 95.1 innings of work, most among Horizon League pitchers. Key ranks third in the League with 86 strikeouts and is tied for seventh with six wins. During Horizon League play, the Tennessee native earned five victories to help UIC to the number two seed in the championship.
Padilla is now a two-time Relief Pitcher of the Year, collecting this year’s honor after also earning the title in 2017. The Chicago native led the League in overall ERA this season, posting a 1.05 ERA in 27 appearances. The redshirt senior held batters to a .110 average, allowing just three earned runs in 2019. The Chicago native totaled six saves in Horizon League play this season for UIC.
Black is the fifth Raider to be named Freshman of the Year in the last six seasons. The Canada native hit .348 in his first year with WSU, including .380 in League contests, both ranking fifth among League batters. Black’s slugging percentage (.728), on-base percentage (.512), and RBIs (29) all rank in the top five in the League in #HLBASE contests.
Sogard earns Coach of the Year honors in his first season at the helm for the Raiders. Sogard led WSU to its second League title in a row as the Raiders posted a 22-8 record in League play, earning 41 total wins in the regular season, including a current eight-game winning streak.
Burdick and Black are joined on the All-League first team by teammates Seth Gray, JD Orr, Zach Weatherford and Bear Bellomy. The Flames are represented on the first team by Key, Padilla and Ryan Hampe. Milwaukee placed three players on the first team with Tyler Bordner, Joe Vyskocil and Trevor Schwecke. Rounding out the All-Horizon League first team is Oakland’s Beau Keathley.
The 2019 Horizon League Baseball championship will take place at Nischwitz Stadium on the campus of Wright State from May 22-25. Every game of the championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.
For complete championship information go to the #HLBASE Championship Central page,
here.
2019 Horizon League Baseball Award Winners
Player of the Year: Peyton Burdick (R-Jr.), Wright State
Pitcher of the Year: Jacob Key (Jr.), UIC
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Alex Padilla (R-Sr.), UIC
Freshman of the Year: Tyler Black, Wright State
Coach of the Year: Alex Sogard, Wright State
All-Horizon League First Team
C: Tyler Bordner (Sr.), Milwaukee
1B: Joe Vyskocil (R-Jr.), Milwaukee
2B: Tyler Black (Fr.), Wright State
3B: Seth Gray (Jr.), Wright State
SS: Trevor Schwecke (Jr.), Milwaukee
LF: JD Orr (Sr.), Wright State
CF: Zach Weatherford (R-Sr.), Wright State
RF: Peyton Burdick (R-Jr.), Wright State
DH: Ryan Hampe (Fr.), UIC
SP: Jacob Key (Jr.), UIC
SP: Bear Bellomy (Sr.), Wright State
SP: Beau Keathley (So.), Oakland
RP: Alex Padilla (R-Sr.), UIC
All-Horizon League Second Team
C: Joshua Figueroa (R-So.), UIC
1B: Will Haueter (R-Sr.), Northern Kentucky
2B: Mario Camilletti (So.), Oakland
3B: Blaze Glenn (Jr.), Youngstown State
SS: Chase Slone (Sr.), Wright State
LF: Jeff Wehler (So.), Youngstown State
CF: Devin Rybacki (R-Sr.), Milwaukee
RF: Scott Ota (Sr.), UIC
DH: Oakland Scanlan (Sr.), Milwaukee
SP: Jared Reklaitis (Sr.), Milwaukee
SP: Bradley Brehmer (Fr.), Wright State
SP: Joey Fredrickson (R-Sr.), UIC
RP: Jake Sommers (Sr.), Milwaukee
Horizon League All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Noah Fisher, Northern Kentucky
Sam Hedges, Northern Kentucky
Jayden Wakeham, Northern Kentucky
Andrew Hoffmann, Oakland
Cherokee LeBeau, Oakland
Ryan Hampe, UIC
Tyler Black, Wright State
Bradley Brehmer, Wright State
Damon Dues, Wright State
Phil Glasser, Youngstown State
Dylan Swarmer, Youngstown State