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NewsCougars Well-Represented on All-AMC South Division Teamswritten by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team was well represented when the American Mideast Conference South Division honors were announced this week. The Cougars, who won the AMC South Division title with a 20-4 mark and are ranked 15th in the final NAIA national poll with a 38-15 overall record, landed seven players on the AMC South Division First Team and one player on the AMC South Division second team while also sweeping the Player, Pitcher, and Coach of the Year awards.
Justin Clarey, a senior catcher from Columbus, Ohio, was selected as the AMC South Division Player of the Year. The former Hilliard Darby High School star leads MVNU with 46 RBI and is tied for the team lead with seven home runs. Clarey is batting .440 with 13 doubles, three triples, and 21 runs scored. He has also thrown out 22 of the 41 runners who have tried to steal on him. Adam Rowe, a senior left-handed pitcher from Wooster, Ohio, was named as the AMC South Division Pitcher of the Year. The former Wooster High School standout has posted a 9-1 record on the mound with a 3.30 earned run average. In 79 innings of work, Rowe has struck out 85 batters and issued just 25 walks. Head coach Keith Veale was chosen as the AMC South Division Coach of the Year by the other coaches in the league. In 15 seasons at MVNU, Veale has posted a 503-290 overall record and led the Cougars to six conference titles and two World Series berths. Joining Clarey and Rowe on the 17-member AMC South Division First Team were Dan Matheney, Jason Irish, Chris McKinney, Steve Edwards, and Nick Schwartz. Matheney, a senior second baseman from New Concord, Ohio, leads MVNU with a .448 batting average and 81 hits. The former John Glenn High School product has also compiled 10 doubles, one triple, 28 RBI, and 38 runs scored. Irish, a senior outfielder/pitcher from Cortland, Ohio, is batting .400, leads the team with 15 doubles, and shares the team lead with seven home runs. The former Lakeview High School star has also registered one triple, 42 runs scored, and 45 RBI. On the mound, Irish has posted a 7-2 record with a 3.23 ERA. McKinney, a junior shortstop from Johnstown, Ohio, is batting .326 with seven doubles, two home runs, 36 runs scored, and 39 RBI. The former New Albany High School graduate has committed just 10 errors at shortstop this year in 210 chances. Edwards, a junior outfielder from Grove City, Ohio, is batting .352 with eight doubles, one triple, two home runs, 32 RBI, and 30 runs scored. The former Grove City High School standout has committed just one error in 69 chances in the outfield, and he has stolen five bases. Schwartz, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Sunbury, Ohio, has posted an 8-4 record on the mound with a team-best 2.78 ERA. In 81 innings of work, the former Big Walnut High School star has struck out 85 batters and issued just 20 walks. Kyle Peters, a sophomore third baseman from Mason, Ohio, was selected to the AMC South Division Second Team. The former Mason High School product is batting .343 with three doubles, one triple, 25 RBI, and a team-high 49 runs scored. The Cougars, who won the NAIA Region IX Tournament on Friday in Canton, Ohio, to earn a berth in the NAIA World Series, will return to action on Wednesday when the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament gets under way in Celina, Ohio. The tournament bracket will be released on Sunday night or Monday morning.
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