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A trio of baseball players from our beloved Mid-American Conference have earned All-American Awards. Zach Plesac (Ball State), Sean Godfrey (Ball State) and Seth Varner (Miami) are among those that are Louisville Slugger Third Team All-Americans.
Zach Plesac
With all of the attention surrounding Scott Baker to make a repeat of last season when he was an All-American, freshman Zach Plesac ended up being the best arm in the Cardinals' rotation. A 12-2 record, Plesac appeared in 25 games and made six starts, but still pitched 85.1 innings (third-most on the team) with a complete game and earned six saves. He held his opponents to a 1.266 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and collected 67 strikeouts.
Other right-handed pitchers that earned Third Team honors are Luke Weaver (Florida State), Carson Baranik (Louisiana-Lafayette), Logan Shore (Florida), and Chance Sinclair (Nebraska).
Seth Varner
The MAC Pitcher of the Year also earns himself some All-American honors this year. The left-handed ace had a 7-3 record with an earned run average of 2.85, allowing 95 hits through 104.1 innings of work with 123 strikeouts and 25 walks. Against MAC opponents, his ERA was 2.06 with a WHIP of 1.020.
Other left-handed pitchers that are Third Team All-Americans include Kyle Freeland (Evansville), Joey DeNato (Indiana), Brandon Finnegan (Texas Christian) and Carlos Rondon (N.C. State). Many experts project Rondon to be the #1 overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.
Sean Godfrey
The MAC Player of the Year had one of the best seasons, offensively, in Ball State's history. He's ninth in the nation in doubles (22), 17th in RBI (57), 30th in total bases (128) and 45th in hits (79). Throughout the season, he hit for a .333 batting average with an on-base percentage of .403 and slugged at a .540 clip. He also led the team with 21 stolen bases, only being caught five times, and had nine home runs.
Other Third Team outfielders include Zach Fish (Oklahoma State), Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) and Chase Raffield (Georgia State).