GRINNELL HAS 5 NAMED TO ALL-MWC TEAM AS LaMOTTE, HOLLIBAUGH CLAIM INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Grinnell College Athletics
GRINNELL, Iowa – Five Grinnell College baseball players have been named to the All-Midwest Conference South Division Team while the Pioneers also claimed two individual awards.
Pitcher Sam LaMotte ’20 was named the MWC South Newcomer of the Year, while Tim Hollibaugh claimed Coach of the Year honors.
Others named to the All-MWC Team from Grinnell were catcher Matt Hammond ’17, shortstop Niko Takayesu ’17, pitcher Ben Binversie ’17 and outfielder Andrew Shults ’19.
LaMotte is enjoying a stellar debut season with the Pioneers. He is the ace of the pitching staff, owning a 4-2 mark with a 2.59 ERA and 30 strikeouts. He has pitched 62-2/3 innings, which ranks ninth in program history for a season, and his win total is fourth in the league.
Hammond is one of just a few Pioneers to be named all-conference four times. He is hitting .323 and ranks first in the conference in both RBIs with 52 and sacrifice flies with six, with the latter figure being one shy of the school record. Hammond ranks fifth in the league in home runs with five, sixth in runs scored with 32 and ninth in at-bats with 134.
Takayesu is Grinnell’s career walks leader with 83 and also is tops for a season in runs scored with 47 and walks with 30. The runs total leads the MWC and the walks total is second. Additionally, he is fourth in the league in on-base percentage (.497), fifth in slugging percentage and triples (.555 and five), sixth in sacrifice hits (six) and 10th in batting average (.352), hits (45) and doubles (10). Takayesu also leads the conference in assists with 122 and is third in double plays with 23.
Binversie has been the Pioneers’ steady closer this year, rolling up a 6-0 record with four saves while striking out 28. He ranks second all-time at Grinnell for appearances in a season with 19, is fourth in saves with four and sixth in wins. His saves total leads the MWC and his wins are second.
Shults, the team’s speedy center fielder, is Grinnell’s all-time leader for sacrifice hits in a season with 11 while ranking third in hits with 54. He is first in the league in sacrifice hits with 11 and stolen bases with 17. Additionally, he is third in batting average (.406) fourth in runs scored, hits and triples (36, 54 and two), fifth in on-base percentage (.478) and 10th in sacrifice flies (three).
Hollibaugh guided the Pioneers to their seventh MWC South Division title in the last eight years, and ninth trip in a row to the league tournament. This season’s team has won 20 games, the fifth-most in program history, and has won more games in a four-year span than any other Pioneer squad. Grinnell has 50 league wins since 2014 and 89 overall victories.
Cornell College swept the other individual awards, as Walker Breard is the Player of the Year and Andy Dodson the Pitcher of the Year.
