Baseball Announces 2007 Team Awards

YPSILANTI, Mich. — Eastern Michigan University Baseball head coach Roger Coryell has announced the winners of the 2007 team awards. Senior pitcher George Biddle (Newark, Ohio-Newark Catholic) and junior pitcher Jeff Fischer (Farmington, Mich.-Farmington) were named the Milo Danziesen Most Valuable Players. The duo also earned co-Pitcher of the Year honors while sophomore outfielder Mike Boyd (Huntington Woods, Mich.-Berkley) and senior first baseman Patrick Dean (Okemos, Mich.-Lansing Catholic Central) were selected Most Improved Players. Dean was also named Scholar Athlete of the Year along with sophomore third baseman and designated hitter Kyle Rhoad (Fostoria, Ohio-Cardinal Mooney).

The Most Improved Pitcher award went to sophomores Matt Shoemaker (Trenton, Mich.–Trenton) and Sean Hoffman (Midland-Mich.-Midland) with junior Steve Bradshaw (Lapeer, Mich.-Lapeer) and Dean both receiving Inspirational Player awards. Sharing the Newcomer of the Year award were freshman infielder Aaron Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) and freshman pitchers Corey Chaffins (New London, Ohio-New London) and Kevin Sikora (Youngstown, Ohio-Boardman).

Biddle made 15 appearances with an 8-4 overall record, team best 2.42 ERA and 7-1 Mid-American Conference record which ranked second the league statistics. He was a first team All-MAC selection and finished near the top in many final MAC regular season statistical categories: second in ERA (2.25), wins (7), shutouts (2), third in games started (13) and complete games (2). He recorded the second straight complete game shutout by an Eagle pitcher, allowing seven scattered hits while striking out six in the Eagles’ 1-0 win over Ohio (April 14). Biddle also recorded his second complete game shutout of the season limiting the top-hitting team in the MAC, Central Michigan, to only three hits while striking out seven for a 0.00 ERA en route to a 3-0 Eastern victory (May 5) which snapped the Chippewas’ 10-game win streak and handed CMU its first back-to-back conference losses this season and first series loss to a MAC opponent this year. Biddle ranks second all-time in EMU history with 327.1 innings pitched, sixth all-time with 20 wins and 10th all-time with 172 strikeouts

Fischer was a first team All-MAC and 2007 All-Tournament team selection making 15 appearances with an 8-5 overall record, 3.00 ERA and 7-1 MAC record with a team-leading 95 strikeouts. Fischer notched nine strikeouts in a 6-5 tournament victory over Toledo (May 23) moving him into a second place tie on the all-time EMU career strikeout list with 258. He also finished near the top in many final MAC regular season statistical categories: second in wins (7) and opponents batting average (.228), third in games started (13) and shutouts (1), fourth in innings pitched (87.2, 6.74 per game) and strikeouts (83, 8.52 per game) and fifth in ERA (2.87). Fischer was named MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 23, notching his fourth consecutive conference victory allowing only one earned run on five hits with nine strike outs in 7.0 innings of work in an 8-3 EMU victory over Ohio and recorded his second career complete game shutout to lead EMU to a 2-0 victory over Ohio University (April 13) going the distance allowing just four scattered hits while striking out five to record his sixth career complete game with a 0.00 ERA and also did not allow an Ohio runner past second base all game. He was named to College Baseball Foundation’s National Honor Roll Players of the Week list for the period ending April 10 tallying 10 strikeouts in a win against Miami (April 6), going 7.2 innings, allowing only three hits and one run that snapped the RedHawks’ 10-game winning streak, which was the third longest active winning streak in the nation. Fischer earned Great Lakes Region Performance of the Week from InsidePitching.com following a career-high 14 strikeout performance against Buffalo (March 31).

Boyd started 26 of 49 games played at outfield and designated hitter and was second on the team hitting a career-best .330 with 32 hits, 20 RBI and 20 runs scored. Boyd ranked second on the team in triples (3), third in home runs (7) and fourth in doubles (7) while notching two or more hits in 10 games. He also hit a career-high 4-for-5 with six RBI and three runs scored in a 20-0 EMU victory over Siena Heights (May 2) and hit 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in a 10-2 EMU game one victory over No. 22/17 Michigan (April 18) which snapped U-M’s 16-game winning streak and handed the Wolverines their first home loss of the season. It was also the first time EMU has won at Michigan since April 18, 1996. Boyd went a perfect 2-for-2 hitting his first career grand slam home run against U-M (May 9).

Bradshaw was a first team All-MAC selection starting in 35 of 42 games played at first base and designated hitter and led the team batting .357. He also .422 in conference play which ranked first in Mid-American Conference only statistics and tallied 46 hits with 25 runs scored, 11 RBI with seven doubles and a home run. Bradshaw recorded two or more hits in 11 games and was named the West Division Player of the Week for the period ending March 26 which marked the second time he won the weekly award in his career. Against Bowling Green (March 24-25), Bradshaw started in all three games batting an impressive .700 going 7-of-10 at the plate notching two doubles, three runs scored and a RBI with a .900 slugging percentage to help Eastern Michigan to a series sweep over Bowling Green. Defensively, he had a 1.000 fielding percentage with 119 put outs.

Chaffins made 14 appearances with a 2-2 overall record and 6.69 ERA and ranked fourth on the team with 42 strikeouts. Chaffins picked up his first career win tallying a career-high 12 strikeouts in a 4-0 shutout victory over Olivet (May 1) allowing only two hits in six innings of work. He also picked up to second career win with a solid effort on the mound allowing only two runs on four hits scattered hits with three strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work in a 9-3 EMU victory over Northern Illinois in the 2007 MAC Tournament. At one point, Chaffins allowed only one hit in six scoreless innings.

Crooks started 19 of 36 games at second and third base hitting .179 with 14 hits, 11 RBI and seven runs scored with two doubles and a triple. He went 2-for-5 with a career high three RBI and two runs score at Coastal Carolina (March 17). Defensively, Crooks notched a .948 fielding percentage with 47 assists and 26 put outs.

Dean started 42 of 51 games played at first base batting .240 with 37 hits, 22 RBI, 23 runs scored, four home runs and a team second-best eight doubles. During the week of April 22, Dean started all five games and led the Eagles to a 4-1 record for the week, hitting .450 going 9-for-20 at the plate with seven RBI, three doubles, four runs scored and a home run with a .750 slugging percentage. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored in EMU’s 10-2 game one victory over No. 22/17 Michigan (April 18) which snapped U-M’s 16-game winning streak and handed the Wolverines their first home loss of the season. It was also the first time EMU has won at Michigan since April 18, 1996. In the doubleheader against U-M, Dean went 4-for-7 (.571) with four RBI, two runs scored and a double and went 5-for-13 (.385) with two doubles, a home run and two runs scored to help EMU maintain its eighth consecutive MAC win streak with a weekend sweep of Ball State (April 20-22).

Lehrman ranks seventh all-time in EMU history with 203 hits, eighth with 38 doubles and 638 at bats and 11th with 80 walks and was a second Team All-MAC selection starting 48 of 54 games this season at catcher and designed hitter. Lehrman was fourth on the team hitting .304 and ranked first on the team in hits (59) and doubles (11), second in RBI (30), runs scored (28) and home runs (7) notching two or more hits in 14 games. He went 1-for-3 from the plate with a home run, RBI and run scored to led EMU in a 6-3 victory over No. 19 Tennessee (Feb. 10) which marked the first victory over a nationally ranked opponent for EMU since a 5-3 decision over No. 13 Notre Dame, April 15, 2003. He also hit 3-for-4 with a run scored in a 10-2 EMU game one victory over No. 22/17 Michigan (April 18) which snapped U-M’s 16-game winning streak and handed the Wolverines their first home loss of the season. It was also the first time EMU has won at Michigan since April 18, 1996. In the doubleheader against U-M, Lehrman led EMU hitting .714 going 5-for-7 with two doubles, three runs scored and one RBI for an impressive 1.000 slugging percentage. He also went a perfect 4-for-4 with a run scored in a 8-3 victory over Ball State (April 20) and hit is first career grand slam home run in a 12-1 EMU victory against Toledo (May 11).

Hoffman was a second team All-MAC selection making 17 appearances with a 7-2 overall record, 3.97 ERA and 6-1 MAC record. He ranked in numerous final MAC regular season statistical categories: second in victories (7), seventh in opponents batting average (.249) and 10th in ERA (3.96) and was third on the team with 54 strikeouts. Hoffman tallied a career-high nine strikeouts allowing only one run on five scattered hits in a 8-1 EMU victory over Buffalo (March 31) and picked up his second career win and first of the season on the mound going 7.0 innings allowing only two runs with four strikeouts in a 7-5 victory over Pacific 10 Conference foe Arizona. Hoffman got the upper hand of the pitchers’ duel, picking up his seventh win of the season pitching seven scoreless innings allowing three runs (two earned) on six scattered hits with four strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work to lead EMU to a 4-3 victory over Western Michigan (May 19) which clinched the team’s first MAC West Division title since 2002.

Rhoad started 33 of 40 games at designated hitter and third base hitting .278 with 30 hits, 23 RBI and 18 runs scored. Rhoad was named to the 2007 All-MAC Tournament Team leading EMU hitting .389 going 7-for-18 with six RBI, five runs scored, three home runs and a double. He was also named MAC West Division Player of the Week for the period ending May 6 for the first time in his career starting in six of seven games to lead Eastern to a 6-1 record hitting .500 going 8-for-16 with eight RBI, eight runs scored, two doubles, one triple and a home run for a .938 slugging percentage. Rhoad hit .400 going 2-for-5 with an RBI and double to help EMU move into first place atop the MAC West Division standings by taking two games from instate rival Central Michigan (May 4-6), snapping the Chippewas’ 10-game winning streak while handing CMU its first back-to-back conference losses this season and first series loss to a MAC opponent.

Sikora made 11 appearances with a perfect 3-0 record and team second best 2.82 ERA. He picked up second win allowing only two runs on three hits with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work in a 10-2 EMU victory over No. 22/17 Michigan (April 18) which snapped U-M’s 16-game winning streak and handed the Wolverines their first home loss of the season. It was also the first time EMU has won at Michigan since April 18, 1996. Sikora notched his first career win with five strikeouts in three innings of work in a 10-3 victory over Northwood.

Shoemaker was a second team All-MAC selection and led the MAC with a career-high 14 saves which ranks first all time in EMU history for saves in a season. He also had team-high 23 appearances which ranked eighth in the conference and was named MAC Pitcher of the Week for the period ending May 19 picking up his MAC-leading 12th and 13th saves of the season in EMU’s series sweep of in-state rival Western Michigan (May 17-19) to move into sole possession of second place on the EMU all-time career saves list. In EMU’s 4-3 and 5-4 wins in game one and three, Shoemaker pitched 2.1 innings allowing only one run on three scattered hits with two strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA to help EMU to its first MAC West Division title since 2002. Shoemaker picked up first career-save against Arizona (March 4), taking the mound with runners on first and second base with no outs. He got the next batter to fly out to left field and the second to ground out with a RBI to pull the Wildcats within two. Shoemaker then closed the deal striking out Jon Gaston to pick up his first save of the season and secure a 7-5 EMU victory.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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