May 2, 2009

2009 Baseball All-WHAC Teams in PDF

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) released their All-Conference teams today and Davenport University placed two student-athletes on the first team. Junior pitcher Tucker Gernhard and junior shortstop Matt Collins garnered first team honors while helping DU to a 4th place finish and an overall record of 32-23.

Matt Collins, who transferred to Davenport from Lakeland CC this past summer, has been a steady force from the plate and in the field for the Panthers. The junior posted a .395 batting average to lead the team while connecting on five homeruns and driving in 49 runs.

Tucker Gernhard pitched his way to the 1st team All-WHAC honor as he posted a perfect 6-0 mark on the year with an impressive 2.42 ERA. Gernhard, also a junior who hails from Stafford, VA, finished the season striking out 61 batters in only 55 innings pitched. He also held his opponents to just a .250 batting average.

Also earning All-WHAC honors were Jake Loomans, who was named to the Honorable Mention team, James Folske who earned the Gold Glove at First Base and Mitch Pike who was named to the Champions of Character Team.

Loomans was the primary catcher for the Panthers this season as the junior started in 37 of the team's 44 games. Jake posted a .315 batting average and had only 7 errors on the year while posting 204 putouts.

Folske played an integral part in the Panthers defense while garnering the Gold Glove for first base as the junior committed only six errors on the season while finishing with a .983 fielding percentage.

The WHAC Tournament kicked off on Friday with the Panthers dropping an 11th inning thriller to Concordia 10-9. DU then knocked out Aquinas College on Saturday in the elimination bracket before ending their season at the hands of #15 Madonna University on Saturday afternoon. DU concludes their first ever season with an overall mark of 32-23.