ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Two players from the Mercyhurst College baseball team have earned postseason honors from the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
Founded in 1978, the NYCBL is a summer wood bat development league for professional baseball. The league gives college players who have not yet signed a professional contract the opportunity to develop their skills at a higher level of play, gain experience with wood bats, and be evaluated by scouts.
Entering their senior and junior years respectively, outfielder
Trey Bennett and shortstop
Jonathan Keppler each earned first-team All-NYCBL honors as members of the Hornell Dodgers.
The duo's strong play helped lead Hornell to the Western Division title and an appearance in the NYCBL Championship, falling 2-0 in the series to Amsterdam. The Dodgers finsihed with a 30-12 overall record.
Bennett recorded the second-best average on the squad with a .347 average (50-for-144) in 42 games started. He contributed 10 doubles and seven home runs while adding a team-best 38 RBI. Additionally, Bennett was rated as the 12th-best pro-prospect in the league.
Keppler's keen eye at the plate helped him to 44 walks in 36 games played. He finished just behind Bennett for average, hitting .327 (35-for-107).
The two were also an integral part of the Lakers 2008 squad that went 38-17, tying the second-best single season wins total. Mercyhurst finished as the PSAC West Champions and advanced to the conference tournament title game before its selection to the NCAA Atlantic Regional, where the Lakers again advanced to the championship series.
With the Lakers in 2008, Bennett played in 49 of the Lakers 55 contests and had 47 starts. He was a solid left fielder that committed no errors in 49 chances and had 48 putouts, including one assist. Ath the plate, Bennett also provided pop to a Lakers lineup that hit over .300 as a team, finishing with a .291 batting average while driving in 49 runs, good for fifth on the squad along with his 21 walks.
Keppler started in 50 games for the Lakers, mainly at shortstop but also at second base. He was excellent in his role as leadoff, setting the Lakers single-season walks record (47) while finishing fifth on the team in batting average at .340. Keppler's walks total ranked eighth nationally while his 0.94 walks per game ranked sixth nationally. He was also hit by pitch on 10 occasions as he led the team in on-base percentage (.519)