Behrend Baseball Trio Earn Major Awards; Eleven Named to All-AMCC Team

ERIE, Pa. – Penn State Behrend baseball juniors Colin Bolla and Dylan Barnes were named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Pitcher and Player of the Year, respectively, while head coach Paul Benim earned Coach of the Year honors to highlight the All-Conference Team.

In all, the Lions had 11 players named to the All-AMCC team. Bolla, Barnes, Jack Baumgartel, Jake Manendo, Thomas Nicely, Tyler Burick, and Silvio Ionadi were selected to the First Team. David Gibson and Andrew Bredel were chosen to the Second Team, and Jake Federouch and Cayden Turner landed on the Third Team. Coach Benim warrants his seventh AMCC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Lions to a 13-4 conference record and the No. 1 seed in the AMCC tournament. Benim went on to guide Behrend to the program's ninth conference title in program history.

Bolla, a starting pitcher, is currently ranked ninth in NCAA Division III statistics in total strikeouts (90) and is 12^th in K's per nine (13.06). He was named the Division III Pitcher of the Week and also named to the d3baseball.com Team of the Week for throwing his first collegiate no-hitter against Pitt-Bradford. Bolla ranked first in ERA (3.05), wins (7) and strikeouts (80). In AMCC action, he had a 2.85 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He is 6-1 in the AMCC, allowing 13 earned runs and striking out 56. He has thrown two complete games and is 8-1 overall. Bolla also struck out 12 in the wins over Pitt-Bradford and Alfred State.

Barnes, an outfielder, is currently ranked 17th in NCAA Division III statistics in batting average (.446). In AMCC contests, he ranked third in RBIs (25), fourth in home runs and total bases, fifth in hits and sixth in runs. Barnes had nine multiple-hit and five multiple-RBI games, including 10 RBIs and three home runs in the win over Hilbert. Overall, he ranks tied for first in hits (62) and is tied for third in doubles (15). Barned is hitting .434 with a .699 slugging percentage and leads the team with seven home runs. He was also named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week earlier in the season.

Burick, at second base, ranked first in the AMCC in triples (4), second in doubles (17), third in hits (62), in runs scored (46) and total bases. Burick has 11 multiple-hit games, including six with three hits in conference play and three multiple-RBI games. He leads the team with 17 doubles and is tied for first in hits with 62 for a .400 average. Burick posted five RBIs on three hits with a double and home run against Altoona.

Ionadi, at short stop, ranked first in AMCC games with 25 runs scored, while ranking second in stolen bases (13), fourth in on-base percentage (.545) and sixth in doubles (6). He has 21 hits and drove in 14, while getting walked 13 times in 17 conference games. Ionadi has six multiple-hit and three multiple-RBI games in AMCC action. Overall, he ranks first on the team with 54 runs and 31 walks and is fourth with 46 hits.

Nicely, the catcher, ranked 10th in AMCC games with 17 RBIs on 17 hits, while scoring 11 runs and smacking four doubles with two home runs. He has four multiple-hit and five multiple-RBIs games in AMCC action. Overall, Nicely ranks third on the team with 40 RBIs. He is fifth in batting average (.356) and sixth in hits (42).

Relief pitchers Baumgartel and Manendo each tallied a win in conference play. Baumgartel pitched 13.2 innings in conference play, striking out 11 and only walking three, allowing one earned run in seven appearances for a 0.66 ERA. Overall, Baumgartel is tied for first on the team with 13 appearances and has a team-best 1.32 ERA. Manendo threw 23.0 innings and fanned 12 batters in six appearances. He started three games and registered a 4.70 ERA. Manendo has pitched 43 total innings in 12 appearances, fanning 31 and walking 10 for a 2-1 record with one save.

Bredel, a starting pitcher, ranked third overall in the AMCC in ERA (3.38) and wins with a 6-1 record during the regular season. He also ranks fifth in strikeouts with 60. In AMCC games only, Bredel made seven appearances for a 5-1 record. He struck out 35 in 40 innings of work, while only allowing 15 earned runs. He struck out eight batters in wins over Altoona and La Roche. Overall, Bredel pitched 62.1 innings for a 4.19 ERA.

Gibson, the designated player, ranked second in the AMCC in batting average (.421) and third in on-base percentage (.496) in 35 games. In 16 conference games, he ranked first in triples and third with 25 RBIs. Gibson is also third in batting average (.500) and on-base percentage (.547). He ranks first on the team with 47 RBIs and is second on the team in hits (56). Gibson is also second with 16 doubles.

Turner, an outfielder, tallied 21 hits and scored 16 runs in 17 conference games. He drove seven runs in and had four doubles for a .368 average. Overall, Turner ranked fifth on the team with 45 hits and eighth with 20 RBIs. He played in 35 games and had seven extra-base hits for a .395 average.

Federouch, at third base, tallied 13 hits, scored 11 runs and drove in nine in 14 conference games. Overall, the freshman has 24 hits, 24 RBIs, 18 runs scored and three doubles. Federouch has three multiple-hit and two multiple-RBI games in AMCC action.