Tucson, Ariz. – Three Mercyhurst baseball players have earned mention on the pre-season All-America watch list, prepared by the American Baseball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division II All-America Baseball Committee. Junior pitcher
Nick Gillung is a pre-season All-American; senior 2B/P
Adam Gray is on the “Players to Watch” list, while freshman pitcher
Ben Rawding is on the “Newcomers to Watch” list for players in the Atlantic Region.
Gillung, a junior pitcher from Punxsutawney High School, had a breakout campaign during 2009. He was named PSAC West Pitcher of the Year after a 6-0 regular season mark on the way to a 7-1 overall record, also posting a 3.60 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched. He received invaluable experience as a relief pitcher at the PSAC tournament. Gillung registered the fourth-most single-season appearances (14), starting a shared-team high 12 times, and represented Mercyhurst on the Rawlings/ABCA All-Atlantic Region First Team one year ago.
Gillung was named PSAC West Pitcher of the Week on April 13, 2009 after going the distance in a shutout of rival Slippery Rock, one of two complete games last season. He has posted a 9-1 career record with a 3.23 ERA, firing 83 strikeouts in 86.1 innings pitched.
Gray, a South Euclid, Ohio product, earned mention on the 2009 All-PSAC Second Team as a standout second baseman. He provided the Lakers with versatility last season, starting 47 games at second base while appearing in seven contests as a pitcher, including six starts. He hit .297 in 2009, and was part of 32 double plays in the infield, as the Lakers turned 56 during the season to rank fourth nationally.
He went 4-3 on the mound in 33 innings pitched, with a 5.43 ERA. His best outing came Apr. 25, 2009 at California (Pa.), when he gave up just one run on six hits in six innings, clinching the regular season title and No. 1 seed for the PSAC tournament.
Rawding, a freshman pitcher from Beaver Falls, Pa., graduated from Blackhawk High School in 2009. He was the 2009 Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Pitcher of the Year, and set the school record for the lowest ERA at 0.43, going 9-0. Rawding was also named 1st team AAA All-State. A two-year starter, Rawding led his team to the WPIAL Quarterfinals in 2009. In 2009, his Blackhawk American Legion team won the county championship after finishing as runners-up in 2008. He was named to the “Roaring 20’s,” as one of the bests 20 prospects in Beaver County, following his junior and senior years.
Additionally, Mercyhurst has been ranked No. 35 in the preseason 2010 NCAA Div. II Baseball Top 40. The Lakers join West Chester (9th), Kutztown (25th), and Slippery Rock (38th) as Top 40 teams from the PSAC.
The Lakers, led by 11th-year head coach
Joe Spano, will begin their season Feb. 12 at Mars Hill before playing Feb. 13 and 14 at Brevard (N.C.) before making a spring trip to play in the Palm Beach Challenge. Mercyhurst begins its defense of the 2009 PSAC West regular season title Mar. 12 vs. Gannon.