Bitanga and Schwendel Earn ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Honors
Emory University junior Mike Bitanga and senior Paul Schwendel were each named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/ Rawlings All-South Region Team for their performances during the 2012 season.
Bitanga was named to the all-region second team, while Schwendel earned a berth to the third team.
Bitanga, a right-handed closer for the Eagles, finished the regular season with a 1.88 ERA, the best among qualifying Emory pitchers and 80th in Division III. Over his team-high 20 appearances, totaling 43 innings, he has a 5-0 record with nine saves, the second most in a single season in Emory history, and second among Division III pitchers this season. Bitanga is Emory's all-time leader with 17 career saves. He was named to the D3Baseball.com all-Region third team and the all-UAA first team earlier this season.
Schwendel finished his senior season with a 6-4 record and a 3.01 earned run average. His 103 strikeouts over 92.2 innings pitched not only led all Emory pitchers during the season, but ranked as the fifth-most in the program's history and 13th among all Division III pitchers in 2012, as of the last NCAA statistical rankings. He also led all Eagles with three complete games, and struck out double-digit batters on five occasions, including each of his last four starts during the year. Schwendel ended his Emory career ranked seventh in school history with 231 career strikeouts, and tied for ninth with 19 career wins. Schwendel was named to the all-UAA second team in 2011.
Emory claimed the 11th University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship in the program's history during the 2012 season, going 26-14 and advancing to the Central Regional of the NCAA Championships.
