LebCo College Baseball Prospect Tracker: May 16

By Steve Beard, LebCoSports Baseball Contributor

The post-season rolls on! An ELCO grad punched his ticket to the National Junior College Athletic Association D2 College World Series, while a couple Palmyra grads, another ELCO guy, and a Lebanon Cedar are headed to regional tournaments in NCAA D2 and D3. Two Cedar Crest grads have a path to the NJCAA D3 CWS that runs through the #1 team in the nation. An Annville-Cleona alum has a shot at qualifying for a conference championship tournament as NCAA Division 1 wraps up the regular season. Finally, some guys hung up the spikes, some for the season and some for good, as playoff runs ended on Saturday.

Millersville University hosts a D2 Regional as the PSAC shows that it is a premier D2 conference in the nation. “The Coop” is sure to be packed, but the opportunity to see some high level baseball might be worth fighting the crowds.

This week, let’s start off with some individual accomplishments.

POST SEASON AWARDS

Brian Coburn, Lancaster Bible College, (Palmyra ’20) was named the United East Conference Pitcher of the Year (Link to Official Announcement). Sporting a 2.72 ERA and a miniscule seven walks in 53 innings pitched (twenty first best rate in the nation), with 37 strikeouts and five wins, Coburn is also accomplished as a hitter.

Amani Jones, Stevenson University (Cedar Crest ’20) was named to the 2023 All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team at shortstop as voted by the Coaches in the conference  (Link to Official Announcement). (The first team shortstop from LVC, Nico Santoro, was named overall conference player of the year). Jones led Stevenson in average (.342), runs (38), hits (52), doubles (15), and was tied for second in RBI (30). (HR Video) (HR Video) (Stevenson Baseball Announcement)

Christian Kreiser, Stevens Institute of Technology (Palmyra ’20) parlayed multiple conference player of the week awards and superior stats into a spot on 2023 All-MAC Freedom Second Team in the outfield as voted by the Coaches in the conference (Link to Official Announcement). Kreiser led the Ducks in average (.348), OPS (1.079), hits (48), doubles (15), RBI (36), and total bases (83) and was second in HR (6). (HR Video) (HR Video)

Dylan Beard, Messiah University (Cedar Crest ’21) was voted by conference coaches to the 2023 All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team at second base (Link to Official Announcement) in his first year at that position (Video). In a season that saw him hit his first collegiate home run (Video), Beard sustained a season ending finger injury in a collision at Widener on March 26 (video). When injured just shy of the halfway point of the season, Beard’s .455 on base percentage, 7 for 7 steal attempts, and 11 walks were among the team leaders (Messiah Baseball Announcement).

FEATURED PLAYER HIGHLIGHT

Gage Miller, Bishop State Community College (Palmyra ’21)  Season Stats

Gage Miller capped an outstanding career at Bishop State with a short, but phenomenal, Alabama Community College Conference tournament. In a game one loss to Shelton State Community College, the eventual ACCC Tournament Champion, Miller was 2 for 4 with a  double and a triple (Video) with an RBI (Box Score). In game two, Miller was an eye popping 4 for 4 with four runs and four RBI, hitting a double and two home runs (Video), including one off the CF camera (Video). Bishop State was eliminated 9-8 (Box Score). Miller was 6-8 with two HR, and five RBI over two games. The Palmyra grad will head to Alabama in the fall and figures to make an immediate impact in a premier program– if he is not taken in the MLB Draft.

ON THE MOUND

Dakota Smith, Frederick Community College (ELCO ’21) Season Stats  NJCAA Division 2 CWS

Dakota Smith was tabbed as game 1 playoff starter for FCC and he did not disappoint. Smith pitched six innings of two run baseball, as he allowed five hits and struck out five as FCC prevailed 8-2 (Box Score). The Cougars punched their ticket to the College World Series in Enid, Oklahoma on Sunday. The NJCAA Division 2 CWS starts May 27, 2023.

Cameron Dubbs, Penn State Altoona, (Palmyra ’20)   Season Stats 

Junior RHP Cameron Dubbs pitched 1-1/3 inning in relief in game one of the AMCC playoffs as 6-seed PSU-Altoona defeated 2-seed PSU- Behrend, 11-9 (Box Score). Dubbs was touched up for four runs, but Altoona held on to stay in the winner’s bracket. They defeated Hilbert College soundly on Friday to move to the championship game as the final team in the winner’s bracket. Dubbs ended up picking up the dub as PSU – Altoona won the AMCC Tournament, 14-5 (Box Score). This was the Lions’ third conference championship. PSU-Altoona (20-25) opens up against #1 Johns Hopkins (39-4) in a bracket that includes #16 Randolph-Macon (31-11) and unranked St. John Fisher (30-12).

Brian Coburn, Lancaster Bible College, (Palmyra ’20) Season Stats

The United East Conference Pitcher of the Week and of the Year’s first outing in the playoffs was a challenge as he faced the vaunted Penn State – Harrisburg lineup. Coburn was 1 for 4 with a stolen base, but was tagged with the loss in a 20-2 rout (Box Score). LBC was eliminated by Penn College of Technology in a game that saw Coburn with a sac fly RBI (Box Score).

Austin Beard, Northampton Community College (Cedar Crest ’22) Season Stats  Upcoming Schedule

Northampton swept Rowan College of South Jersey – Cumberland behind two complete game pitching performances. They will play on Friday in the Region 19 Final Four double elimination tournament in a bracket that features the #1 (RCSJ-Gloucester), #9 (Middlesex), #10 (Brookdale) and #13 (Northampton) in the nation (Tournament Schedule).

Riley Blatt, Penn State-Harrisburg (ELCO ’21) Season Stats

PSU – Harrisburg (33-10) qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament. They will play a best-of-five series against #3 Salisbury (30-5) at home.

Braden Collazo, Penn State-Harrisburg (Lebanon High School ’22) Season Stats

PSU – Harrisburg (33-10) qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament. They will play a best-of-five series against #3 Salisbury (30-5) at home.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX

Austin Baal, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Palmyra ’19) Season Stats

Junior first baseman Austin Baal was the only offense for Ship as they fell 12-1 to West 1-Seed Seton Hill (Box Score). The Raiders offense only tallied two hits and Baal’s contribution was a sac fly in the 4^th to pull Ship to within three runs. The Griffins’ offense added eight more runs over the final four frames and the game ended at the mercy rule after 7 innings to eliminate Shippensburg who will likely not qualify at large for the NCAA D2 CWS. Baal will finish in a five way tie for PSAC lead in HR with 11 (PSAC Stats). The Raiders are still alive in the post season as they will play as the 7-seed in the Atlantic Regional at Millersville May 18-21, 2023 (Bracket). Coverage can be found on the NCAA D2 Baseball Website and the Shippensburg Baseball Website. There are six PSAC teams in the tournament (Millersville, Seton Hill, East Stroudsburg, West Chester, Mercyhurst, and Shippensburg).

Tyler Long, Mount Saint Mary’s University, (Annville-Cleona ’20) Season Stats  Upcoming Schedule

The Mount certainly made things interesting this week as their postseason positioning remains precarious. Needing to sweep 13-38 Siena, the dropped the first game and are sitting in just outside the top 6 qualifiers. After going hitless in a game one loss (Box Score), the junior shortstop had a hit and a run scored in game two (Box Score). Long had only one hit, but knocked in four runs and scored once in a wild 15-14 series finale (Box Score). It appears that Mount Saint Mary’s needs to win two of three from Niagara to qualify for playoffs (as Manhattan has the tiebreaker between the two teams) (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Standings).

Noah Gonzalez, Northampton Community College (Cedar Crest ’22) Season Stats  Upcoming Schedule

Northampton swept Rowan College of South Jersey – Cumberland and will play on Friday in the Region 19 Final Four double elimination tournament against #9 Middlesex (Tournament Schedule).

Kyle Poorman, Rochester Institute of Technology, (Cedar Crest ’19) Season Stats

Senior catcher Kyle Poorman was hitless in round one of the Liberty League playoffs, but RIT put down Vassar, 8-4 (Box Score) and 4-3 to advance to next week’s round 2 (Box Score Game 2).  In the conference final, Poorman was 1 for 4 with a run scored, but RIT fell the Ithaca, 6-4 (Box Score).

Jake Wagner, Pennsylvania College of Technology (Palmyra ‘19) Season Stats

Senior OF Jake Wagner was hitless but scored three runs and drove in a run, reaching on an error, a fielders’ choice and being hit by pitch as PCT fell to PSU – Abington in a wild one, 16-14 (Box Score), in a game that saw a combined eleven runs in the ninth inning. Facing elimination, PCT routed Lancaster Bible College 14-4 (Box Score), and Wagner did his part, going 3 for 5 with an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored. PCT then knocked out Penn State – Abington 10-7 in a game that saw Wagner notch a hit, a walk, and score two runs (Box Score). The Wildcats ran out of magic in the finals, however. Wagner was 2 for 5, but the PSU – Harrisburg lineup overwhelmed PCT’s depleted pitching in a 27-7 win (Box Score).

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