McBride/Parton Headline Mustangs' All-AMC Selections
Erik Holth, CBC Sports Information Director
St. Louis, Mo. – The American Midwest Conference announced their season awards at tonight's pre-AMC tournament banquet and a host of Central Baptist College Mustang baseball players were among the selections. Cade McBride earned both Dual Position Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors while Dylan Parton grabbed Freshman Pitcher of the Year with Gram Middleton, Austin Teal and Ruben Hernandez all earning spots on the first team and Austin LeJeune, Danilo Taborda and Ryan Dauphinee grabbing second team spots. Luke McBride earned the gold glove at shortstop for the second straight season and Cameron Harden was the champion of character.
McBride finished fifth in the AMC in batting average at .438 and finished fifth in on base percentage and slugged .641 with 67 hits, which tied him for sixth in the conference, 40 RBIs, 19 extra base hits, and 20 steals which put him in a tie for third in the league. As a pitcher, he posted a 4-0 record and an ERA of 0.53 in 17 innings with 15 strikeouts. Parton had five wins in 10 appearances, throwing 42 innings and striking out 33 as the number three starter most of the season. Middleton paced the Mustangs in wins (six), innings (57.2) and strikeouts (71) while posting an ERA of 3.43 and a WHIP of 1.23. He ranked tied for sixth in the league in wins, ninth in innings, third in ERA and sixth in strikeouts while leading the league in WHIP. Teal finished second in the conference in average at .455 and paced the league in steals with 32 while ranking eighth in RBIs with 49, fourth in on base percentage at .522 while slugging .652, earning an all-conference selection for the second time in his career. Hernandez, who earned his third all-conference selection and second first-team nod, led the league in bases on balls with 40 and was third in the conference in hits by pitch with 15 good for a third place ranking in on base percentage at .533. LeJeune made 10 appearances and three starts, pitching to a 2-1 record with a pair of saves in 23.2 innings, striking out 22 while walking just five for an ERA of 4.18 and a WHIP at 1.27. Taborda had a stellar year at the plate, batting .330 with 12 extra base hits, 21 RBIs and a .511 slugging percentage while playing .989 defense behind the plate and throwing out 23 percent of attempted base stealers. Dauphinee batted .377 and slugged .597, ranking ninth in the AMC in extra base hits, led by 21 doubles, which tied for most in the league. Luke McBride led AMC shortstops in fielding percentage for the second straight year, capturing another gold glove.
Congratulations to these men on their outstanding seasons. CBC takes on Hannibal-LaGrange in the first round of the AMC Tournament at CarShield Field in St. Louis at 1 p.m.