Baseball Announces Team Awards

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend baseball team announced their team awards after finishing the season with a 25-17 record, going 12-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) and finishing third in the post-season tournament.

Junior shortstop Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) was named the team's Most Valuable Player after a stellar season. Sada was a Second-Team All-AMCC selection, finishing second in the conference and eighth in the country in batting average at .459. He also tallied team highs in hits (73), stolen bases (16), and slugging percentage (.767). Sada's bat helped propel the Lions offense throughout the year where he also added 47 RBI, 21 doubles, and six homeruns. He was recently tabbed ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second-Team and was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team.

Jack Herzing (St. Marys, PA/Elk County Catholic) garnered the Most Valuable Pitcher award for the 2018 campaign. The senior lefty posted a 3.12 ERA and pitched six complete games in 69.1 innings of work on the hill for the Lions, earning him First-Team All-AMCC. He struck out a league-leading 109 batters and posted a 14.15 strikeouts per nine average, which also ranks him sixth and third, respectively, in the nation. During the season, Herzing broke the all-time strikeouts record in school history and threw the program's third no-hitter. He finishes his career with 296 K's. He has also been recognized for his outstanding season on the hill by the ABCA, where he was named to the All-Region Third-Team as well as a D3Baseball.com All-Mideast Region Team.

The Golden Glove award was earned by junior third baseman Justin Foreman (Oakdale, PA/South Fayette). He was an important part of the Behrend defense all year, posting a .922 fielding percentage and gathered 22 putouts and 73 assists. Foreman's offense was a vital part of his game all year as well. He led the team in homeruns with seven while driving in 36 runs and smacking 12 doubles. He finished the year with a .323 average and slugged .571 while being named to the AMCC All-Conference Second-Team.

Ian Taylor (Wexford, PA/Vincentian Academy) was named Most Improved Player after a tremendous junior season. He finished the year at the dish with the second-highest batting average on the squad (.372) while knocking in 18 runs and adding nine doubles. Taylor also scored 24 runs, while striking out just eight times in 134 plate appearances. He also added solid defensive play in right field all season with 43 putouts, two assists, and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

David Boehme (Venetia, PA/Seton-La Salle) was awarded the team's Spirit & Hustle Award. The senior first baseman had an outstanding season, racking up a team and conference-high 60 RBI, which also ties him for second in single-season performances in program history. He is also just the fifth Lion to reach the 150 RBI mark in a career. Boehme also racked up a Second-Team All-Conference selection. He finished the season with a career-high .364 average while smacking six homeruns and tied the single-season record for doubles with 25.

Boehme along with teammate Alex Hajduk (Cranberry Twp., PA/Seneca Valley) were both chosen as the Herb Lauffer Leadership/Scholarship award recipients. Hajduk put together his best season in a Lions uniform after posting an 8-1 record on the mound. He punched out 67 batters in 68.1 innings while finishing with a 3.69 ERA.

The Rookie of the Year award went to Braden Paulinellie (DuBois, PA/DuBois). The freshman came on strong during the second half of the season, recording 13 multi-hit games while finishing the year with a .360 batting average. Paulinellie knocked in 24 runs and finished with 40 hits. He also played a solid second base, finishing the season with a .971 fielding percentage, 53 putouts, and 48 assists.

Phil Myers (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) earned the AMCC Sportsmanship Award. The junior lefty put together another solid year on the mound. He posted a 5-4 record and struck out 34 batters in 56.0 innings of work.