URSINUS PLACES SEVEN ON ALL-CENTENNIAL BASEBALL TEAM
Hopkins' Christ and UC's Wiatrak Capture Individual Awards
LANCASTER, Pa. -- May 3, 1999 -- Ursinus, which won the Conference championship with a 15-3 record, placed seven players on the 1999 All-Centennial Conference baseball team which was announced today.
Johns Hopkins senior OF John Christ (East Amherst, NY/Canisius) and Ursinus junior LHP Matt Wiatrak (River Edge, NJ/Bergen Catholic) were named the Conference's Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Christ becomes the first player to win Centennial Player of the Year honors twice, repeating his 1998 achievement. He is hitting .349 with three home runs and 25 RBI. Christ, the first Centennial player to earn first-team All-Conference honors four times, has a .540 slugging percentage, 21 stolen bases, and also has a 7-5 mound record with a 2.40 ERA. Wiatrak was one of the main reasons that Ursinus won its second Centennial crown. He posted a 9-1 record with a microscopic 0.67 ERA. In 67 1/3 innings of work, the junior allowed just 47 hits, walking 19 and striking out 85. Wiatrak closed the regular season with five straight shutouts and did not allow an earned run in a Conference game, spanning 36 2/3 innings.
Joining Wiatrak on the first team for the Bears is junior 1B Joe Sprague (Oakland, NJ/Collingswood), senior SS Andy Hawkins (East Greenville, PA/Upper Perkiomen) and junior DH Dave Pierce (Green Lane, PA/Upper Perkiomen). Also representing Ursinus on the All-Conference team is sophomore OF Richard Barrett (Hartsville, PA/Central Bucks East) on the second unit, and OFs Kyle Goldwater (Farmingdale, NJ/Freehold Twp.), a junior, and Jeff Ritschel (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain), a sophomore. Hawkins, who is hitting .336 with 24 RBI, is a repeat first-team choice at SS, while Pierce, a second-team choice a year ago, leads the team with three roundtrippers.
Gettysburg, which finished second in the Conference at 13-5, placed two players on the first team - sophomore LHP Drew Chiesa (Medford, NJ/Bishop Eustace) and junior OF John Woods (Ellicott City, MD/ Centennial). Chiesa leads the Conference in ERA (0.50) and shares the lead for most wins (9-1) with Wiatrak.
Franklin & Marshall senior 2B Greg Shambaugh (Lemoyne, PA/Cedar Cliff) and Washington senior 3B Travis Beauchamp (Warsaw, VA/Christchurch School) round out the first-team infield. Shambaugh is second in the Conference in hitting at .390. Johns Hopkins junior Johnny Craig (Hammond, IN/Gavit) is the first-team backstop. Muhlenberg junior Chuck Draper (Trevose, PA/George School), who leads the Conference with four home runs, is the other member of the elite outfield.
1999 All-Centennial Conference Baseball Team
First Team Pos. Name Class Hometown / High School P- Matt Wiatrak, Ursinus Jr. River Edge, NJ / Bergen Catholic P- Drew Chiesa, Gettysburg So. Medford, NJ / Bishop Eustace Prep C- Johnny Craig, Johns Hopkins # Jr. Hammond, IN / Gavit 1B- Joe Sprague, Ursinus Jr. Oakland, NJ / Collingswood 2B- Greg Shambaugh, F&M # Sr. Lemoyne, PA / Cedar Cliff SS- Andy Hawkins, Ursinus # Sr. East Greenville, PA / Upper Perkiomen 3B- Travis Beauchamp, Washington Sr. Warsaw, VA / Christchurch School OF- John Christ, Johns Hopkins * Sr. East Amherst, NY / Canisius OF- Chuck Draper, Muhlenberg + Jr. Trevose, PA / George School OF- John Woods, Gettysburg Jr. Ellicott City, MD / Centennial DH- Dave Pierce, Ursinus + Sr. Green Lane, PA / Upper Perkiomen Second Team Pos. Name Class Hometown / High School P- John Christ, Johns Hopkins Sr. East Amherst, NY / Canisius P- Steve Farneth, Swarthmore Jr. Wilmington, DE / Mt. Pleasant C- Jeb Wiseman, Washington So. Cumberland, MD / Fort Hill 1B- Matt Genna, Haverford Fr. Mount Laurel, NJ / Bishop Eustace Prep 2B- Karl Sineath, Johns Hopkins So. West Chester, PA / Henderson SS- Billy Fisher, Dickinson So. Katonah, NY / John Jay 3B- Mike Wallo, Gettysburg Sr. Tunkhannock, PA / Tunkhannock OF- Dan Gerbasi, Washington Sr. Edgewater, MD / Broadneck OF- Kevin Schroeder, Haverford @ Sr. Allston, MA / Roxbury Latin OF- Richard Barrett, Ursinus So. Hartsville, PA / Central Bucks East DH- Barrett Gugliotta, W. Maryland Jr. Manchester, MD / North Carroll Honorable Mention Pos. Name Class Hometown / High School P- Brent Fuchs, Western Maryland Jr. Ridgely, MD / North Caroline C- Will McCulloch, Haverford Sr. Plymouth, MA / St. Paul's, NH 1B- Kacy Jenkins, Western Maryland So. Elkridge, MD / Howard 3B- Tim Smith, Western Maryland Jr. Riverdale, MD / St. Vincent Pallotti OF- Dustin Derr, F&M Fr. Mount Joy, PA / Donegal OF- Kyle Goldwater, Ursinus Jr. Farmingdale, NJ / Freehold Township OF- Jeff Ritschel, Ursinus So. Orwigsburg, PA / Blue Mountain OF- Joshua Carter, Muhlenberg Fr. Mount Vernon, NY / Rye Country Day DH- Josh Tartaglione, F&M So. Medford, NJ / Shawnee DH- Rob Balderston, Haverford Sr. Bethesda, MD / Walt Whitman DH- Jack Tanner, Gettysburg Jr. Tenafly, NJ / Tenafly Player of the Year - John Christ, Johns Hopkins Pitcher of the Year - Matt Wiatrak, Ursinus * First-Team All-Centennial in 1996, 1997 and 1998 # First-Team All-Centennial in 1998 + Second-Team All-Centennial in 1998 @ Honorable Mention All-Centennial in 1998