ABILENE ? ACU senior catcher
Jordan Schmitt headlines six Wildcats voted to the American Baseball Coaches' Association / Rawlings NCAA Division II all-South Central Region team, which was released Monday.
Schmitt was voted the region's Player of the Year, while senior outfielder
Thomas Bumpass, senior starting pitcher
Preston Vancil and junior relief pitcher
Brad Rutherford were also voted first team all-region. Junior shortstop
Willie Uechi and junior outfielder
Travis Latz were voted second team all-region.
Schmitt led the Wildcats to a 44-19 record in 2009 as ACU won the Lone Star Conference championship and earned a berth in its eighth NCAA regional tournament since 2000. Schmitt finished his career as the LSC and ACU all-time leaer in hits (281), doubles (70), RBI (218) and total bases (470).
Schmitt ? a three-time all-LSC performer and the 2009 LSC co-MVP ? is also ACU's all-time leader in home runs (31), is second in at-bats (799), runs scored (209) and triples (13) and is sixth in stolen bases (46). He set career highs in every offensive category in 2009, hitting .373, while collecting career-bests in hits (91), runs scored (66), doubles (21), triples (5), home runs (13), RBI (93), total bases (161), and stolen bases (22).
Bumpass had the best season of his career, hitting .400, while collecting career highs in hits (88), runs scored (64), doubles (16) and total bases (104). Vancil was only 5-6 on the season, but he posted an ERA of 3.54 while giving up just 49 runs (40 earned) in 101 2/3 innings of work. He ranked in the nation's top 10 in strikeouts with 108.
Rutherford was just about automatic coming out of the Wildcats' bullpen in 2009. Opponents hit just .222 against him and he forged an ERA of 2.63 while going 10-3 with 11 saves, becoming the first player in LSC history to record double-digit figures in both wins and saves in the same season.
Uechi ranked in the nation's top five with 97 hits on the season while hitting a career-best .415 and starting all 63 ACU games at shortstop. Uechi scored 56 runs with 19 doubles and 42 RBI. Latz ? a junior college transfer ? started most of the season in right field and finished the season hitting .342 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI.