Five Land on All-B1G Teams; Bivens Named Top Freshman
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2015
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- University of Michigan freshman infielder Jake Bivens was named the Big Ten Baseball Freshman of the Year, and sophomore designated hitter Carmen Benedetti and senior outfielder Jackson Glines were both named to the All-Big Ten first team, highlighting 10 award winners for the Maize and Blue on the All-Big Ten teams. The conference office announced the awards Wednesday (May 19) prior to the 2015 Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Junior infielder Jacob Cronenworth was a second team selection, while sophomore pitcher Brett Adcock and junior infielder Travis Maezes earned third-team honors. Bivens was joined on the all-freshman team by pitchers Ryan Nutof and Bryan Pall and catcher/designated hitter Drew Lugbauer. Senior Eric Jacobson was Michigan's Sportsmanship Award nominee.
Bivens, a Battle Creek, Michigan, native becomes Michigan's first Freshman of the Year since Jason Alcaraz earned the honor in 1996. It is also Michigan's third-ever Freshman of the Year in baseball. The shortstop is hitting .351 with 66 hits, 42 runs scored, nine stolen bases and a .461 on-base percentage that is second in the league. Bivens has a 14-game hitting streak going into the conference tournament, and he had a 25-game reached-base streak earlier in the year. The two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week has 17 multi-hit games and was a perfect 5-for-5 in a win over Northwestern on May 10.
Benedetti leads the Wolverines and the Big Ten in doubles (23) and runs batted in (65) and is second in the conference in batting average (.364) while being named a unanimous selection at designated hitter. The Grosse Pointe, Michigan, native has 75 hits on the season, 32 runs scored, two triples and three home runs. Benedetti also is slugging at a .539 clip and has an on-base percentage of .421. He had a 29-game reached-base streak earlier this season and has 21 multi-hit games. On the mound, Benedetti has a 2.03 earned-run average with 21 strikeouts in 13.1 innings and two saves in his first year on the hill. Benedetti was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on April 20 and is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
Glines is hitting .348 with 71 hits, 49 runs scored, 12 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 33 RBI for the Wolverines. The Coarsegold, California, native is slugging at a .510 clip and sports a .450 on-base percentage. Glines earns first team honors after being named to the second team last season. He was named a Big Ten Player of the Week on March 2 and has 23 multi-hit games on the season. He had two home runs in the Oklahoma State series (May 14-16) and was 9-for-13 with four doubles, a triple and three RBI in the Purdue series (April 17-18).
Cronenworth is hitting .333 with 78 hits, which lead the Big Ten, 17 doubles, three triples, a team-best six home runs and 42 RBI. He is 11-for-19 in stolen bases and has drawn 32 walks this season. The St. Clair, Michigan, native has a .509 slugging percentage and a .415 on-base percentage while recording 25 multi-hit games. Cronenworth also has 51 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched on the mound with four saves and three wins in 15 appearances.
Adcock is 8-4 with a 3.42 ERA in 16 appearances on the mound for the Wolverines. The Kawkawlin, Michigan, native has 79 strikeouts, which are third in the Big Ten, in 71 innings pitched and sports a .231 opponent's batting average. He has 10 or more strikeouts in three games this season, including 11-strikeout performances against Siena (March 1) and Minnesota (April 26). Adcock was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on March 2 and was a Big Ten All-Freshman team honoree last season.
Maezes records third-team honors for the second straight season. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native is hitting .311 with 10 doubles and 25 RBI and has a .410 on-base and a .407 slugging percentage. He drove in four runs with a pair of doubles in the win over Penn State on April 12 and had a three-run home run in the win over Siena on Feb. 27. Maezes has 15 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI performances.
Nutof is 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 14 appearances and 13 starts for Michigan in his rookie season. The South Elgin, Illinois, native has 58 strikeouts in 74.1 innings pitched and has a .246 opponent's batting average. Three of his four wins have come in conference play, including going 7.1 innings and not allowing a run with six strikeouts in a win over Maryland on March 28. He had a career-high seven strikeouts at Nebraska (March 21) and pitched 7.2 shutout innings in a win over Purdue (April 18). Nutof was named the Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week on March 31 and April 20.
Pall is 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched for Michigan. The Orland Park, Illinois, native has three saves on the year and a .229 opponent's batting average in 20 appearances, which are a team-best. Pall has made eight appearances in conference games and has 13 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched with two saves. He had a two-inning save against Indiana (April 5) with three strikeouts and also earned a save against Maryland (March 29) with a pair of punchouts in an inning.
Lugbauer is hitting .281 on the season with four extra-base hits and a .438 slugging percentage. The Pleasant Valley, New York, native was a perfect 3-for-3 with three doubles in the win over Stetson (March 3) and went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored in a win over Maryland (March 28).
Michigan's four all-freshman honors are the most for the Maize and Blue in school history. The Wolverines had three members on the 2013 team.
Jacobson has played in 49 games for the Maize and Blue with 39 starts this season. The Chicago, Illinois, native is hitting .271 with four doubles and 18 RBI and had a 13-game hitting streak from Feb. 15-March 7. He had the game winning squeeze bunt in the Central Michigan win (May 6) and drove in the game-winning runs with a single in the eighth at Kansas (March 14). Jacobson graduated with a business administration degree from the Ross School of Business this month.
In other specialty awards, Illinois' David Kerian was named Player of the Year, while the Fighting Illini's Tyler Jay was named Pitcher of the Year. Illinois' Dan Hartleb was named the league's Coach of the Year.
Michigan opens Big Ten Tournament play on Wednesday (May 20) against sixth-seeded Indiana. First pitch is set for 9 a.m. CDT at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
2015 BIG TEN AWARDS
Player of the Year
David Kerian, ILL
Pitcher of the Year
Tyler Jay, ILL
Freshman of the Year
Jake Bivens, MICH
Coach of the Year
Dan Hartleb, ILL
All-Big Ten First Team
C - Jason Goldstein, ILL
1B - David Kerian, ILL
2B - Brandon Lowe, MD
SS - Adam Walton, ILL
3B - Mark Weist, MSU
OF - Casey Fletcher, ILL
OF - Jackson Glines, MICH
OF - Pat Porter, OSU
DH - CARMEN BENEDETTI, MICH
SP - KEVIN DUCHENE, ILL
SP - Blake Hickman, IOWA
SP - MIKE SHAWARYN, MD
RP - TYLER JAY, ILL
All-Big Ten Second Team
C - Tanner Lubach, NEB
1B - Ryan Krill, MSU
2B - Jacob Cronenworth, MICH
SS - Michael Handel, MINN
3B - Jose Cuas, MD
OF - Eric Toole, IOWA
OF - Ryan Boldt, NEB
OF - Troy Montgomery, OSU
DH - Scott Donley, IND
SP - Drasen Johnson, ILL
SP - Calvin Mathews, IOWA
SP - Chance Sinclair, NEB
RP - Nick Hibbing, IOWA
All-Big Ten Third Team
C - Kevin Martir, MD
1B - Tyler Peyton, IOWA
2B - Reid Roper, ILL
SS - Nick Roscetti, IOWA
3B - Travis Maezes, MICH
OF - Ryan Nagle, ILL
OF - Craig Dedelow, IND
OF - Tom Marcinczyk, RU
DH - Pat McInerney, ILL
SP - John Kravetz, ILL
SP - Brett Adcock, MICH
SP - Ryan Riga, OSU
RP - Josh Roeder, NEB
Big Ten All-Freshman Team
C - Chad Roskelly, MSU
1B - SCOTT SCHREIBER, NEB
2B - Grant Peikert, NU
SS - Jake Bivens, MICH
3B - Isaiah Pasteur, IND
OF - Logan Sowers, IND
OF - Brandon Hughes, MSU
OF - Luis Alvarado, NEB
DH - Drew Lugbauer, MICH
SP - Ryan Nutof, MICH
SP - Andrew Gonzalez, MSU
SP - Garett King, NEB
SP - Adam Niemeyer, OSU
RP - Bryan Pall, MICH
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Will Krug, Illinois
Will Nolden, Indiana
Kris Goodman, Iowa
Robert Galligan, Maryland
Eric Jacobson, Michigan
Ryan Krill, Michigan State
Lance Thonvold, Minnesota
Blake Headley, Nebraska
Cody Stevens, Northwestern
Pat Porter, Ohio State
James Coates, Penn State
Joe Eichmann, Purdue
Joe D'Annunzio, Rutgers
Unanimous honorees in ALL CAPS
Communications Contact: Kent Reichert (734) 763-4423
