Tim Pettorini

Michael Wielansky

ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region Teams
D3baseball.com All-Mideast Region Teams

Sophomore shortstop Michael Wielansky of The College of Wooster earned the American Baseball Coaches Association Mideast Region Position Player of the Year honor, while longtime head coach Tim Pettorini was tabbed as the Mideast Region Coach of the Year by D3baseball.com, the two organizations announced on Tuesday. In all, five Wooster student-athletes garnered all-Mideast honors by both the ABCA and D3baseball.com, as junior center fielder Jake Fling, senior left-handed pitcher Michael Houdek, senior first baseman Jamie Lackner, and junior right-handed pitcher Nanak Saran joined Wielansky on the teams.

Wielansky earned a spot on the ABCA first-team and the D3baseball.com second-team in addition to his regional player of the year honor. The sophomore sensation enters the week as the nation's leader in runs at 69, and ranks near the top of Div. III in numerous statistical categories. Wielansky's 79 hits rank fourth in Div. III, and in fact, the sophomore is one of two players in the top five in both hits and runs. Those hits led to a .425 average, while Wielansky reached base safely an additional 34 times between 19 walks and 15 hit by pitches, good for a .509 on-base percentage. Of Wielansky's 79 hits, 31 have gone for extra bases leading to a .731 slugging percentage, and each of his slash line categories rank in the top 35 in Div. III.     

Notable, Wooster's now won the ABCA Mideast Region Position Player of the Year twice in the last three seasons, and ironically both times had a sophomore as the honoree, with Lackner bringing home the 2015 honor.

Speaking of Lackner, the first baseman was a consensus first-team all-region honoree for the second time of his career, and picked up all-region certificates five and six. Notable, Lackner, along with Houdek, are Wooster's first three-timers on the ABCA all-region teams since former All-American Adam Samson was named all-Mideast from 2006-08. Lackner continued to put up similar well-rounded offensive numbers as a senior, while being among the nation's leaders in walks with 42. The smooth-swinging first baseman pounded out 69 hits at the plate (69-for-169), while hitting .408 – an average just outside the top 60 in Div. III. Lackner reached base an additional six times via hit by pitches for a .532 on-base percentage, a mark 15th in Div. III. He knocked in 58 runs on the year, a total sixth in Div. III, while his 69 hits are the 33rd-best in the country.

Houdek earned third-team all-region certificates from both the ABCA and D3baseball.com. The lefty tied for the team-lead with eight wins (8-3) and had a 3.99 ERA spanning 76 2/3 innings. Houdek made 12 starts on the year and struck out 60 while holding the opposition to a .253 average. Houdek's honors marked the third straight year he's earned all-region honors from the ABCA, and his first career all-region nod from D3baseball.com.

Fling, the first outfielder to earn all-region honors in three years, really came on late in the season with his .429 average (30-for-72) leading the team over the final month of the season. On the year, the speedy centerfielder ranked third on the team with a .384 (71-for-185) average and is currently fourth in Div. III with 60 runs. During the Mideast Regional, Fling did something no other player in the storied program's history has accomplished – reach 200 hits before the end of his junior year. In fact, Fling's already in the top 10 in program history in career runs, and he's had at least 60 hits and 50 runs in all three seasons in a Scots' uniform. He was a second-team honoree by D3baseball.com and a third-team selection by the ABCA.

Saran's selection gives Wooster two all-region pitchers in the same year for the first time since former All-American Keenan White and Steve Hagen were both all-Mideast honorees during the 2013 season. The right-hander tied with Houdek for the team lead in victories with eight, and did not lose a game this year in 13 outings. Saran worked 74 innings while sporting a 2.92 ERA, and had more strikeouts (61) than hits allowed (60) on the season, a first by a Scot with at least 10 games started since White had 85 strikeouts and 76 hits allowed in 2013. He was a consensus third-team selection.

Pettorini, Div. III's active leader with 1,173 wins (1,173-436-6) earned his sixth all-region coaching honor and first from D3baseball.com. Pettorini, led the Scots to a 36-10 record, and the program's North Coast Athletic Conference best 17th championship this season.

Notable, this is the 12th time Wooster's had at least five all-region honorees.