Six Eagles Placed on All-UAA Baseball Teams; Hannon Named Rookie of the Year
Six members of the Emory University baseball team received
all-University Athletic Association (UAA) recognition, including
freshman outfielder Brandon Hannon, who was named
the 2011 UAA Rookie of the Year.
Hannon earned a spot of the all-UAA first team as well, where he
was joined by senior outfielder Patrick
Riebsame. Sophomore pitcher Mike
Bitanga, senior third baseman Andrew
Cohn, junior second baseman Kevin
O’Connor and junior pitcher Paul
Schwendel were each named to the all-UAA second team.
Hannon finished the regular season batting a team-best .411, the
fourth-best mark by a UAA competitor this season. His .543 on
base percentage led all UAA players and was the
14th-best mark in Division III, while his 37 walks tied
him for the third most among NCAA Division III players.
Hannon also led all Emory players with 46 runs scored and 14 stolen
bases, while picking up eight outfield-assists during the
year. He earned all-UAA Tournament honors earlier in the
season.
Hannon becomes just the second player in Emory history to be named
the UAA Rookie of the Year, joining former Eagle Bryan Langbord,
who claimed the honor during the 2002 season.
Riebsame finished the year tied for the UAA lead with eight home
runs during the season, including the conference-tournament
clinching home run against Washington University (Mo.). He
ended the regular season with a .351 batting average, the
second-best mark on the squad, while leading all Emory players with
40 RBIs and a .617 slugging percentage. He was a perfect
12-for-12 in stolen base attempts during the year, spending the
majority of time in the outfield, while also serving as the
Eagles’ backup catcher. Earlier in the year, he was
named the Most Valuable Player of the UAA Tournament and named to
the all-tournament team.
Bitanga served as the Eagles’ closer during the 2011
campaign, and his eight saves were twice as many as the
next-closest UAA reliever, and good for the 12th-most by
a Division III pitcher in 2011. The righty led all Emory
pitchers with a 2.21 ERA and 24 appearances (all out of the
bullpen), going 3-3 with 22 strikeouts over 40.2 innings
pitched. Bitanga was named to the all-UAA Tournament team
earlier in the season.
Cohn played gold-glove caliber defense at third base throughout the
season for Emory, where he committed just five errors during the
year for a .968 fielding percentage during the season. The
senior hit .283 during the campaign with one home run and 35 runs
batted in. The home run was a grand slam against Washington
that helped key a seven-run comeback for the Eagles. It marks
the fourth-straight season that Cohn has been named to the all-UAA
team.
O’Connor finished the year third on the team with a .329
batting average, driving in 31 runs and scoring 37 of his
own. He was also second on the team with 14 doubles during
the year, while adding on a triple and a home run.
O’Connor finished the season tied for third among Division
III players with 37 walks, and his .472 on base percentage was the
third-highest on the team. This is the second-straight
all-UAA selection for O’Connor, who was named to the all-UAA
Tournament team earlier in the season.
Schwendel led all UAA pitchers in 2011 with 63 strikeouts, ranking
him 82nd among all Division III pitchers. He
finished the year with a record of 5-1, along with a 5.88
ERA. Schwendel led all Emory pitchers with 12 starts during
the season, holding opponents to a .279 batting average over 67.1
innings pitched. This was the first all-UAA honor for the
junior right-hander.
The Eagles, currently ranked sixth in the South Region after
recording a 26-17 record during the 2011 season, are awaiting the
announcement of the NCAA Tournament selections, due to be announced
on Monday, May 16th.
