DALLAS, Texas -- Mercyhurst College head baseball coach
Joe Spano and assistant coach
Charlie Spano accepted the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association / Louisville Slugger Conference Championship Award at the ABCA Convention in Dallas, Texas today.
The award, which is given annually to all regular season champions across NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA, NJCAA, California and Northwest Junior Colleges, recognizes the Lakers as the 2009 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conferece Western Division Champions.
The 2009 Laker edition posted one of the best seasons in program history, setting several team and individual marks.
As a team, the Lakers were the first Mercyhurst unit to capture the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference regular season title in the school’s first year as a full-time member of the PSAC after ending a 13-year affiliation with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Lakers then added the program’s seventh selection to the NCAA regional tournament after finishing as the runner-up in the conference tournament.
At the NCAA Atlantic Regional, the Lakers posted the best-ever finish with a 3-2 mark, winning their first two contests before suffering a loss. Prior to this tourney appearance, Mercyhurst owned a 2-12 all-time record.
The Lakers also defeated a No.1-ranked team for the first time in program history when Mercyhurst defeated Lynn University on March 1 by a 10-6 count.
Additionally, the 2009 edition finished tied with the 2006 squad for the second-most victories behind only the 1997 unit that went 40-8.
Individually, senior centerfield Jamie Walczak set the single-season mark for hits (76) while sophomore shortstop Jonathan Keppler established a new best for walks (47). Freshman Ethan Santora tied the homerun mark, blasting 16 roundtrippers.
On the mound, senior right-hander John Mang went 10-1 to set a new standard in victories while Steve Grife tallied five shutouts for his career, the best all-time.
Also, J. Spano became the program's all-time wins leader, surpassing Joe Jordano. Spano's all-time record now sits at 289-230-3 in nine seasons.