ABCA All-Midwest Region Team (.xls)
Midwest Golden Glove Team (.xls)
INDIANAPOLIS- Senior
Ben Sondgeroth (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls) and junior
Chase Kittinger (Carmi, Ill./Carmi White County) received their second all-region first-team nod of the season Tuesday. After both were named to the All-Midwest Region First Team by Daktronics, the pair garnered the same honor from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). In addition, Greyhound pitchers
Cory Rupert (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) and
Cory White (South Fulton, Tenn./South Fulton) were named to the All-Midwest Region Second Team by the ABCA, while senior
Justin Russell (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) made the Midwest Gold Glove Team.
Sondgeroth finished his career as UIndy’s single-season and career leader in RBI. The Greyhound clean-up man smacked 17 homers in 2009 while leading the GLVC in slugging percentage.
Kittinger paced the club in hitting with a .391 average while starting a hefty 51 games at catcher. He handled a pitching staff that led the conference in strikeouts and opponents’ batting average.
As first-team honorees, Sondgeroth and Kittinger are eligible for All-America consideration. The ABCA All-America teams will be announced at the next week's D-II College World Series.
UIndy’s second-team pitching tandem of Cory White and Cory Rupert combined for a stellar 19-5 record in 2009. White, who had team highs in complete games (4) and shutouts (2), racked up 88 Ks in just 75.2 innings, while Rupert topped the UIndy starters with a 2.66 ERA. The pair of arms also helped the UIndy staff set a program record with 516 total strikeouts on the year.
Justin Russell, UIndy’s gold-glove centerfielder, set numerous records in his tenure at the school. In addition to being voted one of the three best outfielders in the Midwest, the All-GLVC Second Teamer excelled at the plate by setting new program marks for runs (179) and hits (218) and tying the school’s all-time stolen base record (85).
Russell and the all-region quartet led UIndy to a 43-21 record this season and its first NCAA berth since 2003. The Greyhounds went 2-2 in the Midwest Regional last week to advance all the way to the finals before losing to 11th-ranked Grand Valley State.