From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Led by special awards for junior third baseman Andrew Gronski (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and Head Coach Matt Englander, Case Western Reserve University has landed five of its players on the 2014 D3Baseball.com All-Mideast Region Team.
Gronski, a first-team selection, was also named as the Mideast Region Player of the Year. He becomes the second Spartan in program history (Chad Mullins, 2011) to earn the honor. By virtue of his selection, he advances to the D3Baseball.com All-America ballot.
Englander, who guided the Spartans (34-12) to a school-record win total and runner-up finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional, was tabbed Coach of the Year. In his eighth year, Englander has 184 wins with a mark of 123-57-2 over the last four seasons.
In addition to Gronski, senior shortstop Andrew Frey (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) was named second-team all-region. Third-team status went to senior pitcher John Fortunato (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales), junior second baseman Kerrigan Cain (Hartville, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) and junior catcher Jordan Swisher (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland).
All five Spartans selected to the team are first-time honorees.
The Spartans appeared in a third NCAA Tournament in four seasons and finished runner-up at a regional for the second year in a row. In addition to the school record for wins, the team reached as high as No. 16 in theD3Baseball.com Top 25 and claimed a share of a second consecutive University Athletic Association Championship.
Gronski (.439 BA/6 HR/43 RBI) ranked second in the nation and first in the Mideast Region with a school single-season record 86 base hits. His 123 total bases also rank as the second highest amount in program history. The UAA Co-Player of the Year and Championship Tournament MVP, Gronski was also a UAA Hitter of the Week and a member of the D3Baseball.com National Team of the Week earlier this season. Gronski's UAA Hitter of the Week award came after one of the best single-game performances in school history. Versus Guilford College (N.C.) on February 22, he homered twice and hit for the cycle as part of a 6-for-7, 7-RBI effort.
In 129 career games played over the past three seasons, Gronski is a .370 hitter with nine home runs, 87 RBI, 20 doubles and 106 runs scored. He maintains the fifth best batting average in CWRU history and ranks fifth in career runs, seventh in hits (181) and 10th in RBI.
Frey (.363 BA/5 HR/58 RBI) ranked amongst the nation's leaders in runs batted in with the second highest total in CWRU history behind the aforementioned Mullins. Also All-UAA First Team, Frey was a two-time UAA Hitter of the Week in April as well as a member of the Capital One Academic All-District VII First Team.
A .351 hitter for his career, Frey ranks fourth in school history in hits (194), fifth in games played (163), sixth in RBI (113) and tied for seventh in doubles (36).
Fortunato (8-3/1.96 ERA) was the ace of the pitching staff with four complete games and 45 strikeouts in a school-record 92 innings pitched. His eight wins tied for the most in a season by a Spartan hurler and his ERA was the best by any CWRU starter. The left-hander was also named to the All-UAA First Team as well as the UAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
In 39 career outings, Fortunato was 13-6 with a 2.87 ERA and 84 Ks in 160 innings of work. He ranks tied for fifth in school history in wins and eighth in innings.
Both Frey and Fortunato are currently listed on the Capital One Academic All-America® ballot by virtue of their selection to the Academic All-District VII First Team.
Cain (.381 BA/HR/43 RBI/8 SB) and Swisher (.380 BA/7 HR/33 RBI) were also All-UAA honorees earlier this spring. Cain, a second-team All-UAA pick, was named to the UAA Championship All-Tournament Team in March. Swisher, the team leader in homers, was a two-time UAA Hitter of the Week and a two-time member of the D3Baseball.com National Team of the Week.