Horizon League Releases 2023 #HLBASE All-League Awards
INDIANAPOLIS – Northern Kentucky’s Noah Fisher has been named the Horizon League Baseball Player of the Year and Wright State’s Sebastian Gongora was selected as the #HLBASE Pitcher of the Year, while Oakland’s Brandon Decker collected the Relief Pitcher of the Year award and Youngstown State’s Matt Thompson was tabbed Freshman of the Year as the Horizon League announced its #HLBASE All-League honors on Tuesday as voted on by the League’s head coaches. In addition, Coach of the Year went to Wright State’s Alex Sogard.
Fisher is the first-ever NKU player to win Player of the Year. The native of Madison Heights, Mich. hit .353 on the year with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs to help the Norse clinch the No. 3 seed in the upcoming #HLBASE Championship. He leads the League with 64 runs scored, while also ranking top-3 in hits, slugging percentage, and total bases. During Horizon League play, Fisher hit .425 and led the HL in runs scored (45), RBIs (43), hits (45), slugging percentage (.887) and total bases (94). He is also tied for the League-lead in home runs with 13.
Gongora is the fourth Wright State pitcher and the first to win Pitcher of the Year since 2014. The redshirt sophomore posted a League-best 2.87 ERA and had the third-most innings pitched on the season with 78.1. He finished with the most wins in the Horizon League with nine victories in 14 starts. He also ranks third in the League in strikeouts (77) and first in opposing batting average (.221). Nationally, the Dayton, Ohio native is 41
st in ERA, 20
th in starts and 11
th in victories. During Horizon League play, Gongora finished 8-0 with a 2.89 ERA in 10 starts. He tossed 62.1 innings and tallied 64 strikeouts compared to just 24 walks.
Decker becomes the first Relief Pitcher of the Year for the Golden Grizzlies. The Farmington Hills, Mich. native registered a 4.65 ERA in 23 appearances for Oakland and tallied five saves. While in relief, he recorded 64 strikeouts in 62.0 innings of work compared to just 32 walks and held batters to a .258 batting average. In Horizon League play, Decker made 14 relief appearances and tallied five saves as he totaled 46 strikeouts in 43.0 innings of work.
Thompson is the first Youngstown State player to be selected Freshman of the Year. The native of Wadsworth, Ohio made 45 starts for the Penguins and hit .311 in his first year with three home runs, nine doubles and 28 RBIs. In League contests, he batted .324 with a .918 OPS while driving in 20 runs.
Sogard earns his third Coach of the Year honors in just his fifth season at the helm for the Raiders. He led Wright State to 35 wins during the regular season. Wright State earned the No. 1 seed at the upcoming Horizon League Baseball Championship with a record of 22-8. Wright State has led a balanced attack this season, as they rank first in the Horizon League in doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases, while on the mound they are tops in the HL in ERA, WHIP, and shutouts.
Northern Kentucky led the way with eight selections on the All-Horizon League First and Second Teams followed by Wright State with six, including a League-best six players on the first team. Milwaukee finished with five All-League honorees with Oakland right behind them with four honorees. Youngstown State had three student-athletes selected for All-League honors and Purdue Fort Wayne had two players earning honors.
The Raiders and the Penguins also placed two selections on the All-Freshman Team, while Milwaukee and Oakland each had one.
The 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship will take place at Nischwitz Stadium on the campus of Wright State May 24-27. Every game of the championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.
For complete championship information, go to the #HLBASE Championship Central page
here.
2023 #HLBASE Award Winners
Player of the Year: Noah Fisher, Northern Kentucky
Pitcher of the Year: Sebastian Gongora, Wright State
Reliever of the Year: Brandon Decker, Oakland
Freshman of the Year: Matt Thompson, Youngstown State
Coach of the Year: Alex Sogard, Wright State
All-Horizon League First Team
C: Sammy Sass, Wright State
1B: Braedon Blackford, Purdue Fort Wayne
2B: John Odom, Northern Kentucky
3B: Aaron Chapman, Milwaukee
SS: Noah Fisher, Northern Kentucky
OF: Andrew Patrick, Wright State
OF: Colton Kucera, Northern Kentucky
OF: Jay Luikart, Wright State
DH/Flex: Padraig O'Shaughnessy, Youngstown State
SP: Sebastian Gongora, Wright State
SP: Clay Brock, Northern Kentucky
SP: Jake Shirk, Wright State
RP: Brandon Decker, Oakland
At-large selection: Gehrig Anglin, Wright State
All-Horizon League Second Team
C: Jack Thelen, Milwaukee
1B: Liam McFadden-Ackman, Northern Kentucky
2B: Mark Connelly, Milwaukee
3B: Braeden O'Shaughnessy, Youngstown State
SS: Trey Law, Youngstown State
OF: Ben Higgins, Purdue Fort Wayne
OF: Ian Cleary, Oakland
OF: Treyvin Moss, Northern Kentucky
DH/Flex: Gabe Lux, Oakland
SP: Hunter Pidek, Oakland
SP: Kaden Echeman, Northern Kentucky
SP: Riley Frey, Milwaukee
RP: Sam Mathews, Milwaukee
At-large selection: Manny Vorhees, Northern Kentucky
All-Horizon League Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Carson Hansen, Milwaukee
Reggie Bussey, Oakland
Patrick Fultz, Wright State
Joey Valentine, Wright State
Braden Gebhardt, Youngstown State
Matt Thompson, Youngstown State