June 10, 2015
ABCA/Rawlings Division I All-Region Teams
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Three Missouri State standouts earned spots on American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Midwest Region squads Wednesday, as Jake Burger and Matt Hall received first-team nods, while Jon Harris was tabbed for the region's second team.
The three selections for Missouri State hike the program's total number of ABCA citations to seven in the last four seasons and 44 overall for the Bears. Tate Matheny was a second-team All-Midwest Region pick of the coaches last year, while Nick Petree earned back-to-back All-American and first-team all-region laurels from the organization in 2012 and 2013, and Tyler Burgess picked up second-team all-region recognition as a freshman in 2012.
A freshman third baseman from Chesterfield, Mo., Burger became just the third Bear, along with Mark Bailey (1980) and Bob Blakley (1974) in the 52-year history of the program to be named an All-American with his selection as a Louisville Slugger third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in late May. He wasted little time in establishing himself as one of The Valley's top corner men in his rookie season, totaling a team-high 78 hits--the second-highest total overall in the MVC and the top mark for a Valley freshman--and a Missouri State freshman record 22 doubles this spring.
A first-team All-MVC performer and the Valley's Freshman of the Year, Burger led the team with 25 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI outings. He logged two separate 16-game streaks of reaching base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch, including a stretch from April 15 through May 14 in which he recorded a hit in all but one contest and batted .403 (27-for-67) with 17 RBIs.
Hall, who as selected in the sixth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday, shattered both the Bears' and Missouri Valley Conference's single-season records for strikeouts with an NCAA Division I-best 171 K's this spring. The junior from Lee's Summit, Mo., also matched a Missouri State record with 12 victories, while his 2.02 ERA was the best among all Valley starting pitchers. He logged seven double-digit strikeout totals in his 16 starts and led the league with 125.0 innings pitched, which also represents a new MSU single-season high. Hall's 12.31 strikeout-per-9.0 innings pitched rate is not only the top mark in the country, but also the best in school history, while his 275 career strikeouts is third in Missouri State history.
The left-hander became the ninth Bear in the 52-year history of the Missouri State program to earn first-team All-America honors with his selection by Collegiate Baseball. Hall turned in a streak of 32.0 consecutive scoreless innings as part of the Bears' school-record 19-game win streak and his 2.66 career earned run average ranks eighth all-time at MSU. He struck out 15 batters in a May 2 win over Wichita State before capping his season with a memorable complete-game one-hitter of Arkansas this past weekend to force a third and deciding game at the Fayetteville Super Regional.
The 29th overall pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2015 MLB Draft, Harris helped anchor the Bears' weekend rotation throughout the season, finishing the year with an 8-2 mark and 2.45 earned run average en route to earning second-team All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball and becoming MSU's fifth first-round draftee. Trailing only Hall and Indiana State's Jeff Degano (126) in total strikeouts among MVC hurlers, the Florissant, Mo., product logged a career-best 116 K's in 103.0 total innings this spring to rank 12th nationally.
The junior right-hander was one of 60 players named to the midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list before becoming the sixth Bear to earn MVC Pitcher of the Year honors. Harris was nearly untouchable in league play, holding Valley foes to a .145 batting mark while reaching double-digit strikeout totals in four of his six MVC starts while posting a 4-0 record and 1.70 ERA in conference action.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 6,600 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and is the oldest All-America team in college baseball. The ABCA All-America committee is chaired by Dean Ehehalt of Monmouth University and also includes head coaches Mike Stone (Massachusetts), Brian O'Connor (Virginia), Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt), Steve Jaska (Central Michigan), Steve Smith (Baylor), Tommy Raffo (Arkansas State) and George Horton (Oregon).
All-region first-team selections are eligible for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors, which will be announced June 13, while the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove team will be announced June 14.
