Crown, Northwestern Duos Headline UMAC Baseball All-Conference Awards
ST PAUL, Minn. -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced its 2021 Baseball All-Conference awards on Monday afternoon, as voted on by the league's coaches.
Regular Season and Tournament Champion University of Northwestern claimed two of the three major awards with Owen Boerema and Head Coach Dave Hieb earning Pitcher and Coach of the Year, respectively. Crown College's Seth Betts secured Player of the Year while teammate Mason Brock notched the Rookie of the Year nod to round out the major award winners.
Boerema was outstanding on the bump for the Eagles all season, whom won their first UMAC Regular Season title since 1996 and their first-ever UMAC Baseball Tournament Championship. He ranked in the top-four in every major UMAC pitching category, sporting a 6-1 overall record and 2.20 ERA. Boerema struck out 79 batters in 69.1 innings, holding opponents to a .204 batting average.
The sophomore lefty was even better in UMAC competition, leading the conference in ERA (0.26), strikeouts (51) and opposing batting average (.148) while securing four victories, which was tied for the league-best. He delivered several memorable single-game performances, but none more impressive than an 11.0 innning, complete game victory over Crown in which he struck out 15, securing the UMAC Regular Season title for UNW.
The Litchfield, Minn-native also won four-consecutive UMAC Pitcher of the Week Awards. Boerema becomes just the second Eagle pitcher to be named Pitcher of the Year, matching Andy Peterson in 2014.
With Boerema and fellow ace Bryce Crabb as the driving force, Hieb directed UNW to a historic season in 2021. The Eagles sported a 31-10 overall record, including a 15-1 mark in UMAC play, cruising to both the Regular Season and Postseason titles.
Northwestern was in the top-two among UMAC teams in batting, pitching and fielding, ranking second, first and second, respectively. Hieb's pitching staff ERA of 3.24 was a full run better than the next UMAC team. The Eagles landed a total of five All-UMAC performers, three on the First Team and two Honorable Mention selections. The Coach of the Year honor for Hieb is the fifth of his career.
Betts, Crown baseball's first-ever UMAC major award winner, was the catalyst all season for the Storm offense. The senior shortstop ranked first in the UMAC in runs scored (52) and hits (58) and fourth in slugging percentage (.745) and RBI (37).
Of his 58 hits, 30 went for extra bases as Betts finished the season with 13 doubles, a league-best eight triples and nine homers. Betts was also a menace on the base paths, stealing a UMAC-best 32 bases. He earns his third career All-UMAC selection, previously named to the First Team in 2019 and Honorable Mention in 2018.
Brock, who was also named Honorable Mention All-UMAC, was tabbed Rookie of the Year after a strong first season with the Storm. He scored 51 runs in 2021, one shy of Betts' league-best mark, and added 24 extra-base hits. Brock's power was on display even in his first year as he ranked top-five in the conference in doubles (13), triples (4) and home runs (7).
He also showed his ability as both a patient hitter with 25 walks, third-best in the UMAC, and a good baserunner with 16 steals. Brock also earned UMAC Player of the Week honors back on March 8, 2021.
Several programs had more than one First Team All-UMAC selection led by St. Scholastica's league-best seven First-Teamers. In order, Bethany Lutheran (5), Wisconsin-Superior (5), Crown (4), Northwestern (3) and North Central (2) each had multiple First Team selections. Minnesota Morris and Northland each had a First Team recipient to round out the 28-man First Team.
Each coach then chose two Honorable Mention recipients per program, of the players who were not named to the First Team.
North Central won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
UMAC Baseball All-Conference
Player of the Year - Seth Betts, Crown
Pitcher of the Year - Owen Boerema, Northwestern
Rookie of the Year - Mason Brock, Crown
Coach of the Year - Dave Hieb, Northwestern
First Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Yr. |
School |
Position |
| Alex Baumann |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Infield |
| Seth Betts |
Sr. |
Crown |
Infield |
| Ross Beumer |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Outfield |
| Owen Boerema |
So. |
Northwestern |
Starting Pitcher |
| Rene Brockman |
Jr. |
North Central |
Infield |
| Aaron Clogston |
Fy. |
Crown |
Catcher |
| Bryce Crabb |
So. |
Northwestern |
Startin Pitcher |
| Noah Cross |
Jr. |
Northland |
Infield |
| Bryce Flanagan |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Infield |
| Bryce Huffman |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Designated Hitter |
| TJ Martin |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Relief Pitcher |
| Dallas McBroom |
So. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Starting Pitcher |
| Eric Newman |
Sr. |
Crown |
Starting Pitcher |
| Logan Nissen |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Starting Pitcher |
| Mitchell Novak |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Infield |
| Hunter Pearce |
So. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Catcher |
| Mike Rodriguez |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Utility |
| Ryan Rodriguez |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Starting Pitcher |
| Brandon Rolf |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Outfield |
| Jake Schelonka |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
| Luke Schemenauer |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Infield |
| Kyle Schroedle |
Jr. |
Crown |
Outfield |
| Matt Tappe |
Fy. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Relief Pitcher |
| Grant Taival |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Starting Pitcher |
| Matt Tautges |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
| Justin Torres |
Sr. |
North Central |
Utility |
| Keegan Vercoe |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Outfield |
| Carter Wendlandt |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Infield |
Honorable Mention
| Name |
Yr. |
School |
Position |
| Rian Arreazola |
Jr. |
Northland |
Infield |
| Evan Benson |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Outfield |
| Adrian Bethel |
Jr. |
Northland |
Outfield |
| Mason Brock |
Fy. |
Crown |
Outfield |
| Ryan Castaneda |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Designated Hitter |
| Mason Cox |
Fy. |
Martin Luther |
Outfield |
| Brody Curtiss |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Starting Pitcher |
| Elliot Danhoff |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Starting Pitcher |
| Alec Gratz |
So. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Infield |
| Jonas Lindemann |
So. |
Martin Luther |
Infield |
| Carlton Lindow |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Catcher |
| Daniel Montana |
Fy. |
North Central |
Infield |
| Mitch Olson |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
| Jack Parker |
So. |
North Central |
Catcher |
| Jack Perala |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Starting Pitcher |
| Nic Schroedle |
Sr. |
Crown |
Starting Pitcher |
| Brian Vanyo |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Starting Pitcher |
| Philip Wall |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Starting Pitcher |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award –
North Central
Bethany Lutheran – Ben Groff
Crown – Connor Buchanan
Martin Luther – Will Rauh
Minnesota Morris – Josh Doss
North Central – Justin Torres
Northland – Shawn O’Connell
Northwestern – Carlton Lindow
St. Scholastica – Alex Haapajoki
Wisconsin-Superior – Bryce Meverden