May 19, 2008
Luken and Kidd Named to Academic All-District Baseball Team
Baldwin-Wallace College senior second baseman Nate Luken and junior center fielder Cody Kidd have been named to ESPN The Magazine’s 2008 Academic All–District IV baseball team.
The Academic All–District IV team is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and honors outstanding ballplayers from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2.
Luken and Kidd were selected to the first team of the district’s College Division, which includes players from NCAA Division II and Division III schools and the NAIA.
Luken had his best season as a Yellow Jacket this year, batting .321 with 20 runs scored and 18 runs batted in and posting a .969 fielding average. He was a first team Academic All–Ohio Athletic Conference pick as a junior and won B-W’s Guy Fisher Award for Academic Excellence in 2006. His numerous academic accolades also include the dean’s list and membership in the Alpha Lambda, Chi Sigma Alpha, Dayton C. Miller and Pi Gamma Mu honor societies, as well as the J. Edgar Hoover Foundation Criminal Justice Award. He finished his academic career at B-W with a 3.86 GPA in criminal justice and will start law school at The Ohio State University this fall.
Kidd, who plans to attend medical school after his senior season, carries a 3.80 GPA in biology. He’s on the dean’s list and is a member of Alpha Lamda. He was a second team Academic All-District pick last year. This season, the All-OAC and Academic All-OAC center fielder hit .387 and led the Jackets with 60 hits, 34 runs, four triples and 13 stolen bases while making just two errors.
[ B-W Baseball Academic All--District IV Selections ]
May 7, 2008
Riley Kreisher Named OAC Hitter of the Week
Baldwin-Wallace College junior first baseman Riley Kreisher was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week on Monday after batting .500 last week and tying the Yellow Jackets’ record for doubles in a season.
Kreisher had 10 hits in 20 at bats in the Jackets’ final five games of the season. He belted five doubles and a home run for a .950 slugging percentage. He also scored four runs, knocked in five and posted a .545 on-base percentage.
His season-ending outburst of two-base hits gave him a team-leading 18 for the year and tied the school record set by Pat Shannon in 2003. He also led the team with 18 walks, 29 runs batted in, a pair of home runs and a .553 slugging percentage. He tied with junior center fielder Cody Kidd for the lead in triples with four.
[ B-W Baseball OAC Players of the Week ]
April 15, 2008
Jim Jaskowak Named OAC Pitcher of the Week
Baldwin-Wallace College junior right-hander Jim Jaskowak was named an Ohio Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week yesterday for throwing a four-hit shutout against defending OAC champion Otterbein College.
Jaskowak’s shutout nailed down the first end of B-W’s doubleheader sweep against the defending champs last Thursday at Heritage Field. He held the Cardinals scoreless on four hits and two walks and had them hitting into outs all day. After pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, he retired the side in order the next two innings and only allowed one Cardinal into scoring position the rest of the game.
The complete game victory was Jaskowak’s second of the season. It boosted his record to a team-leading 4–0 and dropped his earned run average to 3.38.
[ B-W Baseball OAC Players of the Week ]
October 25, 2007
B-W Baseball Team Recognizes 2007 Award Winners at Alumni Game
The 2007 Baldwin-Wallace College baseball award winners were recognized between innings of the Yellow Jackets’ annual alumni baseball game at Heritage Field on Homecoming morning, October 13.
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Outstanding Freshman: Right-handed pitcher Jim Palko was the Yellow Jackets’ most consistent starter, finishing his first season with a 2–1 record and a 2.64 earned run average in eight appearances. He was named OAC Pitcher of the Week for throwing nine innings in two games without giving up a run.
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Gold Glove Award: Slugging first baseman Riley Kreisher hit .370 with ten doubles and three home runs, but he was even more impressive with his glove, committing just one error in 285 chances. It was the first error of his career, and he now holds the career record for infielders with .997 fielding average.
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Big Stick Award: Center fielder Cody Kidd proved that last year’s Outstanding Freshman award was no fluke. The speedy lead-off hitter got on and around the bases all season, batting .382, scoring 42 runs and stealing 16 bases in 17 attempts. He also set a season record by getting hit with a pitch 13 times.
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Outstanding Pitcher: Catcher and closer Bob Storesina was the most dominating pitcher on the Jackets’ staff. He tied the career saves record by saving four games this season. Three of them came in a single weekend, earning him an OAC Pitcher of the Week award. His team-leading 0.75 ERA was backed up by 12 strikeouts in 12 innings of work, and he gave up just one walk and one earned run.
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Yellow Jacket Award: Cody Kidd and Riley Kreisher were recognized as outstanding teammates by the coaching staff for their unselfish leadership, positive attitude and constant encouragement of their teammates, and for “a practice ethic and style of play that, if emulated by any of our guys, would make for a better player and teammate.”
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Guy Fisher Award for Academic Excellence: Sophomore pitcher Brandon Fredericks posted back-to-back semesters with straight As and has a 3.91 cumulative grade point average going into his junior year.
Several recent B-W baseball award winners were at the alumni game to see this year’s honorees receive their awards, including last year’s Gold Glove second baseman Kevin Brown and Big Stick right fielder Dan Melito. Their classmates Nick Quarando, the 2004 Outstanding Freshman, and Mike Farrell, the 2004 Yellow Jacket Award winner, were also at the game.
Joining them in the alumni dugout were John Mayles ’85, Rich Barberic ’87, Mark Massey ’92, Steve Conter ’02, Jim Leffler ’03, Ryan Petrusky ’03 and Pat Shannon ’03.
Southpaw Max Newill ’98 started for the alumni and struck out five batters in two innings of work. He was followed to the mound by his classmate Brian Rudloff, while Heath Baker ’03 and Kevin Seda ’83 rounded out the alums’ rotation.
Before the final inning of the game, the alumni presented head coach Bob Fisher with a check for $3,752 that was raised during this spring’s Home Runs for Heritage campaign. The money was donated by B-W baseball alums, parents and fans, and will help pay for the design and construction of a new press box at Heritage Field.
For most of the morning, it looked like the game would end in a tie, just like last year’s 3–3 game, but the varsity Yellow Jackets broke a 1–1 deadlock with a late-inning rally and beat their predecessors 7–1.
May 18, 2007
Trio of B-W Ballplayers Named to Academic All-OAC Baseball Team
A trio of Baldwin-Wallace College baseball players has been named to the 2007 Academic All–Ohio Athletic Conference baseball team.
The Academic All-OAC team recognizes the league’s top scholar-athletes. Its roster is made up of outstanding starters and key reserves who have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average. Roster spots are awarded by a committee of faculty representatives from each of the ten conference schools.
This year, the faculty reps honored junior second baseman Nate Luken and sophomore center fielder Cody Kidd with first team selections. Luken, a business administration and finance major, boasts a 3.91 GPA, while Kidd, who was named to the Academic All-District team earlier this week, is carrying a 3.72 GPA in biology and pre-med.
Sophomore right fielder Mike Brisky, a business administration and management major with a 3.56 GPA, was selected for honorable mention.
[ B-W Baseball Academic All-OAC Selections ]
Three Yellow Jackets Make All-OAC Baseball Team
Baldwin-Wallace College senior co-captain Bob Storesina and sophomores Cody Kidd and Riley Kreisher have been elected to the 2007 All–Ohio Athletic Conference baseball team by the league’s head coaches.
Storesina was voted the OAC’s second-team utility player after starting 29 games as the Yellow Jackets’ catcher and making nine appearances as the team’s closer. At the plate, he hit .313 with 23 runs scored and 23 batted in while slugging out eight doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs. He threw out 47% of the runners who tried to steal a base against him. On the mound, he posted four saves and a 0.75 earned run average, striking out 12 batters in 12 innings while walking just one. He was named the OAC Pitcher of the Week on April 30 for saving three games in a single weekend.
Kidd, the Jackets’ speedy center fielder, and Kreisher, their slugging first baseman, were also picked for the second team.
Kidd led the Jackets with a .382 batting average, 42 runs, four triples and 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts. He also had team highs in on-base percentage (.484) and slugging percentage (.553), and he tied with Kreisher for the team lead with 47 hits and three home runs. He hit safely in 19 straight games and set a school record by getting hit with a pitch 13 times.
Kreisher played nearly every inning at first base this season and committed only one error in 285 fielding chances. He hit .370, scored 32 runs and knocked in 33. In addition to matching Kidd with the most hits and homers, he tied sophomore designated hitter Matt Bolte for the team lead with 18 walks and topped the team with 10 two-base hits.
[ B-W Baseball All-OAC Selections ]
May 16, 2007
Cody Kidd Named to Academic All-District Baseball Team
Baldwin-Wallace College sophomore center fielder Cody Kidd has been named to ESPN The Magazine’s 2007 Academic All–District IV baseball team.
The Academic All–District IV team is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and honors outstanding ballplayers from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2.
Kidd, who is a biology and pre-med major, has a 3.72 GPA. He was selected to the second team of the district’s College Division, which includes players from NCAA Division II and Division III schools and the NAIA.
Kidd led the Yellow Jackets this season with a .382 batting average, 42 runs scored, four triples and 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts. He tied for the team lead with 47 hits and three home runs and set a school record by getting hit with a pitch 13 times. In 35 games as the Jackets’ starting center fielder, he made only two errors.
B-W has now had at least one baseball player selected to the Academic All-District team in every season since 2001.
[ B-W Baseball Academic All--District IV Selections ]
May 2, 2007
Bob Storesina Earns B-W’s Second Straight OAC Pitcher of the Week Award
Baldwin-Wallace College senior closer Bob Storesina was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week Monday after picking up three saves in a pair of doubleheaders over the weekend. Storesina is the second straight B-W pitcher to earn the honor. Freshman starter Jim Palko won the award last week.
On Saturday, Storesina locked down both ends of a doubleheader sweep at Ohio Northern University. He came back the next day and pitched two innings of scoreless relief to close out the second game of a doubleheader with Heidelberg College as B-W fought back for a split against the second-place Student Princes. In two days, he threw four innings of save-situation baseball without giving up a run or a walk.
In nine relief appearances this season, Storesina has a stingy 0.75 earned run average. He’s struck out 12 batters in 12 innings while walking just one, and he’s held his opponents to a .214 batting average. His four saves are second in the OAC and two behind the school record of six set by Andy Robinson in 1991.
In addition to his role as the Yellow Jackets’ closer, Storesina has started 27 games behind the plate this year, throwing out 45% of opposing base stealers and batting .297 with six doubles, three triples, a pair of home runs, 21 runs scored and 23 batted in.
[ B-W Baseball OAC Players of the Week ]
April 24, 2007
Jim Palko Named OAC Pitcher of the Week
Baldwin-Wallace College freshman pitcher Jim Palko was named Pitcher of the Week by the Ohio Athletic Conference yesterday for throwing nine innings in two B-W victories last week without giving up a run.
The right-hander from Euclid muffled Mount Union College with a two-hit shutout in the first start of his career last Monday, striking out three batters and walking just one. Then, on Saturday, he tossed two innings of scoreless relief in extra innings as the Yellow Jackets rallied for a come-from-behind win over Wilmington College.
Palko leads the Jackets’ starting pitchers with a 1.93 earned run average in 18 2/3 innings, and he’s holding his opponents to a .236 batting average. He’s scheduled to start the opener of tomorrow’s OAC doubleheader against first-place Heidelberg College at 1 p.m. at Heritage Field.
[ B-W Baseball OAC Players of the Week ]
November 28, 2006
Joey Dallas Inducted into B-W Hall of Fame
Joey Dallas ’93 was inducted into the Baldwin-Wallace College Athletic Hall of Fame last month at the annual Homecoming eve induction ceremony in the Strosacker Union ballroom. He became the 46th B-W baseball player or coach admitted to the hall, following Erik Young ’89, who was inducted at last year’s ceremony.
Joey was an outstanding catcher and designated hitter for the Yellow Jackets from 1989 to 1992. He was a dominating force at the plate as well as behind it, winning the Jackets’ “Big Stick” outstanding hitter award in 1991 and the “Gold Glove” outstanding fielder award in 1992. He was named to the All–Ohio Athletic Conference first team twice, first as a DH in 1991, and then as a catcher in ’92. He was also a two-time All–Mideast Region catcher.
He still holds B-W’s career record with a .402 batting average, and he had the highest on-base percentage (.491) of any player in the ’90s. His .983 career fielding average is second all-time among B-W catchers.
In 1991, Joey led the Jackets to a school-record 25 wins, a runner-up finish in the OAC and an NCAA regional tournament appearance. He knocked out a season record with 64 hits and finished 13th in the nation with a .457 batting average. Behind the plate, he committed just one error in 117 chances while managing a pitching staff that threw more innings than any other in school history.
Two of his former battery mates, Bret Butler ’92 and Mark Massey ’92, were at the ceremony to see their friend and teammate inducted. B-W head coach Bob Fisher ’63 and Joey’s high school coach, Curt Karpinski, a hall of fame pitcher for the Jackets from 1969 to 1972, were also on hand for the honors.
Joey lives in Avon with his wife Michelle and their two daughters. He was named Lorain County baseball coach of the year in 2000 at Elyria Catholic High School, where he managed the dugout from 1998 to 2001. He’s currently a teacher and coach at East Tech High School.
