COMPLETE D3BASEBALL.COM ALL-CENTRAL REGION TEAM
PICTURED ABOVE: Freshman lefthanded pitcher Michael Kaufman is the first CCIW player to earn the All-Central Region Rookie of the Year award from D3baseball.com.
Wheaton, Ill. – Two members of the Wheaton College baseball team have been selected to the 2013 D3Baseball.com All-Central Region team. Freshman
Michael Kaufman has earned First Team All-Region recognition and junior
Justin Swider earned a Third Team All-Central Region selection. Additionally, Kaufman was named the Central Region Rookie of the Year.
Michael Kaufman had an outstanding debut season to earn First Team All-Region recognition at pitcher and the D3Baseball.com Central Region Rookie of the Year award. He becomes the first student-athlete to earn the website's Central Region Rookie of the Year award. Last week, Kaufman earned First Team All-CCIW recognition and was named the CCIW Newcomer of the Year.
Kaufman compiled a 6-2 record this season in 11 appearances, including nine as the starting pitcher. He posted a 1.68 ERA that is the lowest by a Wheaton starting pitcher since 1997 and the second-lowest ERA at Wheaton since 1967. In 80-1/3 innings he held opponents to a .244 batting average, with 57 strikeouts and just 14 walks. Kaufman is currently ranked 46th in Division III (ranking of 370 Division III programs) in earned run average (1.68 ERA) and his six complete games this season is 23rd in Division III.
Justin Swider (PICTURED LEFT) earns All-Central Region recognition for the second consecutive year; in 2012 he was a Second Team honoree at second base from the website and in 2013 he earned Third Team recognition in the outfield. This is Swider's second All-Region selection this academic year from the D3sports.com family of websites, joining his Third Team
All-North Region recognition from D3Football.com as a kickoff returner this fall for the Thunder football program.
A two-time All-CCIW selection for the Thunder baseball team, Swider led the Thunder with a .320 (55-for-172) batting average this year. He drove in a team-best 35 RBI, with 27 runs scored. His seven doubles led the club and he collected two home runs on the year. In CCIW play this Spring Swider hit a league-best .418 (38-for-91) batting average, with 27 RBI and 18 runs scored. Swider compiled a 21-game hit streak this season, the longest by a Thunder player since 2008.
