PADUCAH, Ky. - Eastern Illinois senior shortstop Jordan Kreke was named the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year while Murray State junior hurler Daniel Calhoun was tabbed OVC Pitcher of the Year at the annual OVC Awards Banquet held on the eve of the 2009 OVC Baseball Championship (which will be held at Brooks Stadium in Paducah). Jacksonville State outfielder Kyle Bluestein was tabbed Rookie of the Year while Murray State's Rob McDonald took home OVC Coach of the Year honors.
The awards are voted on by league head coaches and sports information directors and were awarded along with first and second-team All-OVC honors. Regular season champion Eastern Illinois and runner-up Murray State each had four players selected to the first-team. Eastern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri (two apiece) were the only other programs with multiple first-team selection. UT Martin led the way with three second-team selections while Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State each placed three individuals on the All-Freshman Team. EKU's seven total selections across the three teams were the most of any school.
The All-OVC teams included two sets of twins (one duo who were each second-team selections and another set who were All-Freshman picks) and a set of brothers who were selected to the second-team and the All-Freshman squad.
Kreke became the third Eastern Illinois player to be named OVC Player of the Year and first since Pete Pirman in 2002. Kreke blistered OVC pitching in 2009, hitting .507 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and .530 on-base percentage in 18 Conference games. In those games he had 38 hits, eight doubles, nine home runs and 40 RBI. In 44 games overall on the season, Kreke hit .398 with 72 hits, 48 runs, 16 doubles, 13 home runs and 58 RBI. He led the OVC regular season champion Panthers with 14 multiple-RBI games and added 21 multiple-hit games including a five-hit effort during the season. He was named OVC Player of the Week three times during the season, becoming the first OVC position player to win the award three times in the same season since 1988. He is also one of 15 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the top shortstop in the country.
Calhoun ranked among the top 10 nationally in victories (10), E.R.A. (2.05) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.67). In 15 games (13 starts), Calhoun posted a 10-3 record including a school record 10 complete games, a shutout and a save in 88 innings of work. He struck out a league-best 84 (including a season-high 14 in a win over North Dakota State) and walked only six batters all year including none of his last five starts of the season. Opponents hit just .237 against Calhoun on the season and he allowed just 80 hits in his 88 innings. He was named OVC Pitcher of the Week three times during the season. Calhoun is one of 15 semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year Award. He needs just one more victory this season to tie former major leaguer Kirk Rueter for most wins in a season in school history. Calhoun is the eighth Murray State pitcher bestowed with the league's highest honor but first tabbed "Pitcher of the Year" (prior to 1992 the league's Player of the Year award could be a positional player or pitcher).
Bluestein is the third Jacksonville State player to take home the Rookie of the Year award and second in as many years. In 23 Conference games in 2009, the outfielder hit .422 with 35 hits, 21 runs, five home runs and 26 RBI while slugging .723 and compiling an on-base percentage of .480. Overall Bluestein was the Gamecocks leading hitter on the season, hitting .382 in 39 total games. He had 55 hits, 17 doubles, eight home runs and 39 RBI. He was second on the team in multiple-RBI games (11) and third in multiple-hit contests (18).
In his sixth season at his alma mater, Murray State's McDonald picked up his first OVC Coach of the Year honors. It marks the eighth time a Thoroughbred coach has been bestowed the honor, the other seven going to legendary skipper Johnny Reagan, the winningiest coach in OVC history (Reagan last earned the honor in 1991 prior to his 1993 retirement). McDonald's squad was picked a distant sixth in the preseason OVC poll but he coached them to an overall 32-19-1 record and a 13-8-1 Conference mark and second place finish in the league. The 32 victories were the most for the Thoroughbreds program since 1976 (36). The team posted 21 home victories, the most at Reagan Field since setting a school record with 21 in 2001.
Kreke and Calhoun were two of the 14 total first-team selections. Only three players were repeat selections from last year, Southeast Missouri State junior catcher Jim Klocke (.404, 72 hits, 55 runs, 19 doubles, 9 home runs, 46 RBI), Southeast Missouri State senior outfielder Tyrell Cummings (.385, 74 hits, 47 runs, 14 doubles, 8 home runs, 52 RBI) and Murray State junior first baseman Wes Cunningham (.424, 75 hits, 49 runs, 12 doubles, 10 home runs, 48 RBI). Another player - Eastern Kentucky sophomore third baseman Jason Langfels (.441, 75 hits, 45 runs, 6 triples, 12 home runs, 72 RBI) was a All-Freshman selection last year before jumping to the first-team this year. Another first-team selection was Morehead State junior shortstop Drew Lee (.431, 85 hits, 61 runs, 18 doubles, 17 home runs, 67 RBI) who was one of two shortstop (along with Kreke) on the first-team due to a tie in voting. Both Kreke and Lee are among the 15 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is given to the nation's top shortstop. Other first-team selections included Eastern Illinois senior second baseman Jordan Tokarz (.351, 54 runs, 13 home runs, 52 RBI), Eastern Kentucky senior outfielder Matt Davis (.418, 82 hits, 71 runs, 43 RBI, 25 stolen bases), Murray State junior outfielder Daniel Hill (.345, 58 hits, 15 home runs, 67 RBI), Murray State junior designated hitter Jason Laws (.366, 53 hits, 39 RBI) and Eastern Illinois junior utility man Richie Derbak (team-best .419, 75 hits, 40 RBI, 6-2 record, 7 saves) who saw time as both a designated hitter and closer for the Panthers. The first-team All-OVC pitching staff included Calhoun, Eastern Illinois sophomore Mike Recchia (8-2, 3.02 E.R.A., 65.2 innings pitched, 62 strikeouts) and Jacksonville State junior closer Bill Henke (2-1, 1.50 E.R.A. school record 9 saves). Overall the first-team included four seniors, eight juniors and two sophomores.
The second-team had three players who were also second-team selections in 2008 and one All-Freshman pick from a year ago. That group included Morehead State junior utility man Michael Bottoms (.363, 73 hits, 8 home runs, 61 RBI, 2-5 record, 4.18 E.R.A., 5 saves), Austin Peay junior closer Daniel Tenholder (3-2, 2.93 E.R.A., 9 saves) and Tennessee Tech sophomore utility man A.J. Kirby-Jones (.329, 56 hits, 17 home runs, 61 RBI, 3-3 record, 4.96 E.R.A., 2 saves). The team also included Austin Peay junior catcher Trey Lucas, Eastern Kentucky junior first baseman Anthony Ottrando, UT Martin senior second baseman Scott Gladstone, Eastern Kentucky freshman shortstop Richie Rodriguez, UT Martin senior third baseman Mark Hartsfield, his twin brother - UT Martin senior outfielder Miles Hartsfield, Morehead State junior outfielder J.D. Ashbrook, Jacksonville State junior outfielder Daniel Adamson and Southeast Missouri State designated hitter Louie Haseltine. The second-team pitching staff included Tenholder, Murray State junior Chris Craycraft and Tennessee Tech junior Lee Henry.
Eight of the nine OVC baseball squads had at least one representative on the All-Freshman Team, which was awarded for the fourth time in 2008. The 13-member team was highlighted by the League's Rookie of the Year Bluestein and EKU's Rodriguez, who was a second-team All-OVC selection. Jax State also had third baseman Sam Eberle on the team while Eastern Kentucky added outfielder Michael Garcia and designated hitter Jacob Daniel. Morehead State tied the Colonels for a league-best three selections on the team as catcher/designated hitter Eric Bainer, twin brother and outfielder Lucas Bainer and third baseman Andrew Deeds were all selections. Keeping with the brother theme, Murray State second baseman Jonathan Craycraft was one of the 13 members selected to the team; his brother Chris was a second-team All-OVC selection this year. The team was rounded out by Austin Peay shortstop Jon Clinard, Southeast Missouri State shortstop Kenton Parmley, Eastern Illinois outfielder Zach Borenstein and Tennessee Tech utility player Ben Burgess.
OVC Player of the Year: Jordan Kreke, Eastern Illinois
OVC Pitcher of the Year: Daniel Calhoun, Murray State
OVC Rookie of the Year: Kyle Bluestein, Jacksonville State
OVC Coach of the Year: Rob McDonald, Murray State
ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM
C - Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri
1B - Wes Cunningham, Murray State
2B - Jordan Tokarz, Eastern Illinois
SS - Jordan Kreke, Eastern Illinois
SS - Drew Lee, Morehead State
3B - Jayson Langfels, Eastern Kentucky
OF - Matt Davis, Eastern Kentucky
OF - Daniel Hill, Murray State
OF - Tyrell Cummings, Southeast Missouri
DH - Jason Laws, Murray State
UTIL - Richie Derbak, Eastern Illinois
SP - Mike Recchia, Eastern Illinois
SP - Daniel Calhoun, Murray State
RP - Bill Henke, Jacksonville State
ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM
C - Trey Lucas, Austin Peay
1B - Anthony Ottrando, Eastern Kentucky
2B - Scott Gladstone, UT Martin
SS - Richie Rodriguez, Eastern Kentucky
3B - Mark Hartsfield, UT Martin
OF - J.D. Ashbrook, Morehead State
OF - Daniel Adamson, Jacksonville State
OF - Miles Hartsfield, UT Martin
DH - Louie Haseltine, Southeast Missouri
UTIL -Michael Bottoms, Morehead State
UTIL - A.J. Kirby-Jones, Tennessee Tech
SP - Chris Craycraft, Murray State
SP - Lee Henry, Tennessee Tech
RP - Daniel Tenholder, Austin Peay
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
C/DH - Eric Bainer, Morehead State
2B - Jonathan Craycraft, Murray State
SS - Jon Clinard, Austin Peay
SS - Richie Rodriguez, Eastern Kentucky
SS - Kenton Parmley, Southeast Missouri
3B - Sam Eberle, Jacksonville State
3B - Andrew Deeds, Morehead State
OF - Zach Borenstein, Eastern Illinois
OF - Michael Garcia, Eastern Kentucky
OF - Kyle Bluestein, Jacksonville State
OF - Lucas Bainer, Morehead State
DH - Jacob Daniel, Eastern Kentucky
UT - Ben Burgess, Tennessee Tech
Note: There are two SS's on the first team and two UTIL's on the second team due to a tie in voting.
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