OVC RELEASE | MIKE MCGUIRE AUDIO | CHRIS ROBINSON AUDIO
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Ohio Valley Conference handed out its postseason baseball awards on Tuesday night at the annual league tournament banquet. Morehead State senior catcher Chris Robinson was named Player of the Year and Mike McGuire was named Coach of the Year, while seven other Eagles earned all-conference honors.
Robinson and senior first baseman Kane Sweeney were named to the first team, while senior shortstop Robby Spencer, senior left fielder Nick Newell, senior right fielder Brandon Rawe and sophomore right-handed pitcher Luke Humphreys earned spots on the second team. Second baseman Braxton Morris and right-handed relief pitcher Brent Stoneking were named to the All-Freshman Team.
A native of Uxbridge, Ontario, Robinson leads the OVC in batting average (.416), hits (94), runs (74), triples (5) and total bases (154), ranks second in RBI (67) and third in doubles (23), on-base percentage (.481) and slugging percentage (.681). In 30 conference games, he hit .441 with 56 hits, 46 runs, 12 doubles, five triples, seven home runs and 40 RBI. Robinson is the eighth Morehead State player to be named OVC Player of the Year and first since Lance Seasor in 2005.
Nationally, Robinson ranks second in runs/game (1.40), hits and total bases, fourth in RBI (1.26/game), fifth in batting average, 10th in slugging and 12th in doubles (0.43/game). Robinson drove in five runs twice in a game this season and was 5-for-5 with four runs and four RBI in a victory over SIUE. He also hit for the "cycle" against Murray State. He led the OVC with 20 multi-RBI games this season and was second in the league with 27 multi-hit contests. Robinson enters the postseason with a season-high 13-game hitting streak.
Defensively, Robinson committed just two errors in 274 chances and threw out 11 base runners attempting to steal. He began the season on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List (given to the nation's top catcher) and was recently named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy (given to the top player nationally by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association).
In just his third season at the helm, McGuire led Morehead State to its most overall (35) and conference victories (20) in program history. MSU finished second in the OVC standings, its highest finish since placing second in 1994. During the year, the team put together the longest winning streak in MSU history (11 games) and finished the season by going 24-7 over its final 31 games (since March 28). Along the way, the Eagles scored three wins at nationally-ranked San Diego, recorded their first-ever sweep at Jacksonville State and concluded the OVC schedule with wins in 17 of their final 20 contests.
McGuire put together an offense that leads the country in batting average (.334), scoring (8.6 runs/game), total runs (471), hits (680), doubles/game (2.93) and slugging (.523). McGuire is the fourth Morehead State skipper to be named OVC Coach of the Year and first since the 1986 season. The previous MSU coaches to take home the honor include Rex Chaney (1964, 1965, 1966), Sonny Allen (1969, 1973) and Steve Hamilton (1977, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986), all of who are in the OVC Hall of Fame.
Sweeney, a native of Millstadt, Ill., leads the league with 51 walks and set the MSU career record for free passes (146) during the year. He ranks third in the conference with 13 home runs and enters the OVC Tournament batting .346 in all games and .397 against league foes. Sweeney also ranks second in the league with a .485 on-base percentage. He has produced 22 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI efforts. He currently sports a team-best 32-game reached-base streak.
Spencer, from El Paso, Texas, ranks third in the conference with 66 RBI while batting .344 overall. He has clubbed 21 doubles and eight home runs while producing a .554 slugging percentage. Spencer owns 23 multi-hit performances and 18 multi-RBI games. He posted the team's longest hitting streak (21) during the season, which was also the longest in McGuire's tenure.
Newell, a native of Dyersburg, Tenn., established the school single-season record for doubles (27). Newell is batting .374 overall and hit .385 against league pitching. Newell has belted seven home runs and collected 57 RBI. He ties Robinson for the team-high in multi-hit games with 27.
Rawe, who set the MSU single-season record for hits last year, has 85 hits this season to rank third in the conference. The Matthews, N.C., native has legged out 22 doubles, scored 65 runs and has 46 RBI. He is hitting .349 overall and batted .379 in league tilts. Rawe has also turned in 25 multi-hit efforts.
Humphreys, from Dickson, Tenn., finished the regular season 7-2 (improving to 12-4 for his career). Humphreys has pitched 76.1 innings in 13 starts this season and recorded 60 strikeouts. The seven wins are the most by an MSU pitcher since 2010 and the most by an Eagle starter since 2005.
Morris, a native of Albertville, Ala., is batting .316 and has scored 41 runs in his first collegiate campaign. Among his 50 hits are eight doubles and one home run. He has also recorded 23 RBI.
Stoneking, a native of Winchester, Ky., enters the postseason with a 4-1 record and 4.70 ERA. He has struck out 29 batters in 44.1 innings, and opponents are hitting just .274 against him.
Morehead State opens the OVC Tournament on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET against a to-be-determined opponent. The Eagles earned the second seed for the event for the first time since 1994.
