|
Kapferer Named Mideast P-O-Y; Four Other Scots All-Region
Kurt Kapferer (Jefferson, Ohio / Jefferson Area) was the NCAA Div. III Mideast Region Player of the Year and four of his College of Wooster teammates were also selected for all-region honors, announced the American Baseball Coaches’ Association Tuesday. Joining Kapferer on the All-Mideast Region First Team were Jon Oliver (West Chester, Ohio / Lakota West) and Shaun Swearingen (Hilliard, Ohio / Bishop Watterson), and all three are now eligible for All-American consideration, while Brandon Boesiger (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Cuyahoga Falls) and Adam Samson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) garnered second-team recognition. Kapferer, now a three-time all-region honoree (second-team as a sophomore, first-team as a junior), becomes the second Fighting Scot in a row to land the regional Player-of-the-Year award, as Luke Ullman took the top honor last season. As a senior designated hitter, the 6-7, 260-pound Kapferer has led Div. III in home runs throughout the spring, currently with 18 (0.40 per game). He also doubled 10 times for a .823 slugging percentage, which ranks as the fourth-best nationally, and has 54 RBI, which puts him among the top-40 in the country in that category (1.20 per game). Kapferer also hit for average, batting at a .388 clip (57-for-147), and was walked 31 times, nine intentionally, as part of a .511 on-base percentage. Oliver, who was also a first-team all-region pick last year, served as the ace of Wooster’s pitching staff. The 6-2, 205-pound senior right-hander went 8-0 in 10 starts and 13 overall appearances, running his consecutive victories streak to 15 (dating back to his last start of the 2004 season), and accumulated a 1.99 ERA, which currently is among the top-50 in Div. III. Oliver, who also earned his first career save during 2006, exhibited great control, striking out 69 while walking just eight over 68.0 innings pitched, and limited the opposition to a team-low .214 batting average.
For Swearingen, a junior centerfielder, it marks the first All-Mideast accolade of his career. He came into 2006 as a .317 career hitter, but led the Scots throughout the campaign and now ranks among the top-50 in Div. III with a .435 batting average (70-for-161). Swearingen stole a team-high 20 bases and also scored 50 runs, doubled 16 times, and posted a .508 on-base percentage, ranking second on the squad in each of those statistics. One of Wooster’s most clutch hitters and top defensive players, 20 of his 46 RBI came with two outs and he compiled a .969 fielding percentage with four outfield assists. Boesiger, a junior catcher and two-time all-region award winner (first-team as a sophomore), shattered the school record for on-base percentage this season with a rate of .596 as he had a .427 batting average (47-for-110), 19 walks, and a conference-record 30 hit by pitches. He also led the Scots with 57 runs scored and 17 doubles while tripling three times, homering four times, and driving in 30 runs. Defensively, Boesiger gunned down over 20 percent of base stealers (8-of-37) and only yielded two passed balls. Samson, a first-time all-region selection, was Wooster’s No. 2 pitcher. The sophomore southpaw finished with an 8-3 record and 3.07 ERA, which was 2.25 against Div. III opponents. He struck out 62, compared to just 18 walks, during a team-high 70.1 innings and 14 appearances (11 starts). Samson, who threw two complete-game shutouts, only yielded nine extra-base hits (five doubles, four homers) on the year and the opposition batted just .218 off of him. As a team, the Scots were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the NCAA Div. III coaches’ poll throughout the 2006 regular season. Wooster went on to win its third-straight North Coast Athletic Conference championship and was 38-7 heading into the NCAA Regional Tournament at Terre Haute, Ind., where it unexpectedly went “two-and-out” via losses to Manchester College (5-4) and Otterbein College (4-1). |
Email
Story
