MOUNT PLEASANT – Iowa Wesleyan College senior shortstop Edder Morales (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) has been named the 2010 Midwest Collegiate Conference Baseball Player of the Year and was one of a number of Tigers represented in all-conference honors announced Friday by the league.
Morales was one of five Wesleyan players named First Team All-MCC and was joined by Jansel Encarnacion (Jr.-Azua, Dominican Republic), Edgar Hernandez (Sr.-Jalisco, Mexico), Josh Sturges (Jr.-Murray, Utah) and Jared Zueck (Sr.-Williamsville, Ill.) on the first team. Pedro Hernandez (Sr.-Quebradillas, Puerto Rico) and Lino Sampson (So.-Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) were also named to the honorable mention team, and Head Coach Brett Monaghan was named co-winner of the MCC Coach of the Year award.
In addition, junior center fielder Adam DuBuque (St. Louis, Mo.) was named a member of the MCC Gold Glove team. In all a total of nine IWC players and coaches received postseason honors, the most of any school in the conference. The awards come after the Tigers won 31 games and a share of the MCC regular season title, the first conference regular season title in baseball in school history.
Morales is the second straight IWC player named Player of the Year, receiving the award one year after Frany Cruz won the honor. One of the most feared hitters in the conference all season, Morales ranked among the MCC leaders in a number of categories. He hit .393 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in, leading the league and ranking among the NAIA leaders in homers.
Morales also tied for the lead in RBIs and finished fourth in batting average. His 75 hits and 139 total bases also led the league, and his .728 slugging percentage was third in the conference. He had separate hit streaks of 13 and 12 games and had a season high four home runs and eight RBIs on April 1 against Grand View University, helping him receive NAIA National Player of the Week honors. He was named first team all-conference for the second straight year and finishes his IWC career with a .359 batting average including 130 hits, 29 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .655 slugging percentage over two years.
Zueck also was named First Team All-MCC for the second straight year. The senior right fielder joined Morales among the conference hitting leaders, batting .400 with 62 hits, nine home runs and 34 runs batted in. Zueck also had a .505 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot with 20 walks and 14 times being hit by pitch. He finished third in the MCC in batting average, fifth in hits and tied for fifth in runs scored.
Encarnacion received first team honors for the first time in his first year with the program. He finished 7-3 with a 4.00 earned run average and 67 strikeouts in 72 innings pitched, including three complete games and two shutouts. Encarnacion was second in the MCC in strikeouts and wins and third in innings pitched, and also was named NAIA National Pitcher of the Week on March 30.
Hernandez was honored as the first team all-conference relief pitcher, receiving his first all-conference honors after pitching in 27 games and posting a 3-2 record, 1.76 ERA and six saves. Hernandez pitched in 30 2/3 innings and allowed just 18 hits and six earned runs while striking out 23.
Sturges also received first team all-conference honors in his first year at Wesleyan. The second baseman hit .335 with 63 hits, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBIs. Sturges ranked fourth in the MCC in hits and tied for fifth in the league in doubles, runs scored and runs batted in. He also was fifth in total bases with 102, and his seven sacrifice flies led the conference.
Hernandez was named honorable mention for the first time after hitting .294 with 40 hits, nine doubles, ten home runs and 27 RBIs. The senior designated hitter/catcher finished fifth in the MCC in home runs, launching ten this year after hitting two all of last year, and helped the Tigers lead the conference with 72 homers as a team.
Sampson also was named honorable mention for the first time this year. The first baseman came on as one of IWC’s best hitters, batting .353 with 49 hits, nine doubles, six home runs and 21 RBIs and posted a .455 on-base percentage, second on the team.
DuBuque was named to the MCC Gold Glove team as its center fielder after posting a .974 fielding percentage. The junior had three errors in 109 chances while covering ground in the outfield as one of the MCC’s fastest players. DuBuque also had 17 stolen bases to rank third in the league in that category while hitting .266 with one homer, 11 RBIs and 35 runs scored.
Monaghan shared MCC Coach of the Year honors with Grand View’s Lou Yacinich after the two’s respective teams tied for the MCC regular season title. In his fourth year as coach, Monaghan became the winningest baseball coach in IWC history this year and has 113 wins in four years. The Tigers finished 17-7 in the conference (31-23 overall) and won the first regular season title in the school’s 100+ year baseball history. Wesleyan was the top seed in the MCC Tournament and lost in the championship game to Grand View, just missing its first-ever trip to the NAIA National Tournament.
For more information regarding the IWC baseball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
MCC Baseball All-Conference Team
