ENID, Okla. – On of the eve of the 2015 Great American Conference Baseball Championships, Ouachita Baptist’s Connor Eller, John Franklin Matros and Head Coach Jeremy Haworth plus Arkansas Tech’s Patrick Castleberry picked up the league’s top individual honors at the pre-championship ceremony and cookout from David Allen Memorial Ballpark.
Eller and Matros led an OBU pitching staff that lost two-time GAC Pitcher of the Year Davis Ward and closer Keegan Ghidotti to the MLB Draft. Eller, the GAC Pitcher of the Year, nearly finished the regular season as the leader in all three pitching triple-crown categories. He led with 70 strikeouts, tied for the lead with eight wins and his 2.53 ERA finished just 0.02 off the GAC lead. Matros, the Freshman of the Year, posted a 4-3 record with four complete games. He allowed only two home runs in 53.1 innings pitched.
Haworth earned Coach of the Year as he led the Tigers to a second-place finish during the regular season after being predicted sixth in the preseason coaches poll. His Tigers enter the GAC Baseball Championships ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Division II Central Region poll – one of four GAC schools ranked inside the top eight.
2015 ALL-GREAT AMERICAN CONFERENCE BASEBALL TEAM
Castleberry headed up a total of eight Wonder Boys that earned an All-GAC selection, most in the conference. He became the second Wonder Boy to earn Player of the Year, joining Jonathan Finnegan who claimed the inaugural award in 2012. Castleberry capped the regular season atop the GAC in hits, runs, home runs, RBI and total bases and ranked second in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and doubles.
The Tigers and Wonder Boys each placed three on the All-GAC First Team. In addition to Eller, OBU shortstop Justin Weigle and outfielder Parker Norris landed on the top team. Weigle hit .345 with four triples, second in the GAC, and ranked sixth in slugging percentage. Norris placed inside the top 10 in batting average, hits and runs scored.
From Arkansas Tech, outfielder Bryan Heward and designated hitter Kris Ayers garnered First-Team honors. Heward placed second in the conference to Castleberry with 49 runs scored and ranked third in the GAC in home runs, 11, and RBI, 46.
Harding also garnered three First-Team All-GAC selections. Starting pitcher Andrew Fiddler went 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA and five complete games. Second baseman Kyler Offenbacker posted a .307 average while making up half of a middle infield tandem that turned 26 double plays. Catcher Davis Richardson ranked second with 35 walks and fifth with a .457 on-base percentage.
Southern Arkansas, the GAC’s regular-season champions, placed two on the All-GAC First Team. Landon Simpson, a Magnolia native claimed one of the four starting pitcher positions. In his first season at SAU, he led the conference with four shutouts. He posted a 7-4 record with a 2.64 ERA, third-best in the GAC. His 68 strikeouts and 92.0 innings pitched ranked second. Outfielder Billy Germaine closed the regular season as one of just three in the conference with at least 100 total bases. He hit 11 home runs and his 59 RBI finished second to Castleberry.
Henderson State also put two players onto the All-GAC First Team. Nick Vanthillo, from Antwerp, Belgium, claimed the relief pitcher slot. He recorded eight saves, tied for the top mark in the GAC and sported a 1.67 ERA. He struck out 30 in 32.1 innings pitched and held batters to a .196 average. The Reddies’ third baseman Claude Johnson ranked inside the top 10 in five major offensive categories.
East Central’s Nick Spini earned a First-Team slot as the league’s top utility man. He made starts at four different positions during the season – catcher, first base, right field and designated hitter. He carried a 27-game hitting streak for more than two months of the season, during which time he hit .481. He closed the year having reached base in his last 34 games. For the year, he hit .430, 40 points higher than any other GAC player. He also paced the league in on-base percentage and doubles.
Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Brandon Grimsley claimed a First-Team position in the outfield. He ranked in the top three in the conference in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Southwestern Oklahoma State ace right-hander Jon Chidester rounded out the First Team. He led the GAC with 2.51 ERA and he ranked third with 63 strikeouts.