Kapferer Earns First-Team All-American Nod

Kurt Kapferer (Jefferson, Ohio / Jefferson Area) closed his athletic career with The College of Wooster by being selected first-team All-American, announced the American Baseball Coaches’ Assoc. in conjunction with this weekend’s (May 26-30) NCAA Div. III National Championship Series at Fox Cities, Wis. Kapferer becomes the 22nd Wooster baseball All-American and 12th to land first-team recognition.

Kapferer, one of 15 players on the 2006 All-America First Team, was previously named both the Mideast Region and North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year this spring as well as first-team   all-region and first-team all-conference. The senior designated hitter led Div. III in home runs with 18 (0.40 per game) and also doubled 10 times for a .823 slugging percentage, which ranked sixth in the most recent national statistics. He hit for average as well, finishing at a .388 clip (57-for-147), and produced a conference-leading 54 RBI. In addition, Kapferer reached safely 40 other times via 31 walks, nine of which were intentional, and nine hit by pitches for a .511 on-base percentage.

“It’s an outstanding achievement, a real good way for him to cap his career,” long-time Fighting Scot head coach Tim Pettorini commented.

For his career, Kapferer, a three-time all-region performer and four-time all-conference honoree, belted a school-record 49 home runs, tied for the 11th-most in Div. III history. He totaled a .726 slugging percentage and a .491 on-base percentage, which stand as the fourth-highest rates in the Wooster annals, as well as 158 runs scored, 189 RBI, 98 walks, and 32 hit by pitches, putting him among the top-10 in team history in those categories. Kapferer batted .369 (195-for-529) during his 168-game career.

Kapferer is now waiting to see if he’ll be picked in the 2006 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, which will be Tuesday and Wednesday, June 6-7.

A team tri-captain, Kapferer helped lead Wooster to a 38-9 record this season. The Scots won their third consecutive conference championship and were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Regional Tournament at Terre Haute, Ind. However, Wooster went “two-and-out” there with losses to Manchester College (5-4) and Otterbein College (4-1), while Marietta College won that regional and then went on to capture the national championship.