Large Group of Tigers Earn All-Region Awards After Historic Season

SPRINGFIELD, OH - Six Tigers earned all-region recognition as both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) released their teams for all 10 regions.

Junior Xander Rodriguez (Salinas, PR / Franklin County), senior Tommy Chilicki (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy), and senior Alex Nemunaitis (Perrysburg, OH / Ottawa Hills) made first-team D3baseball.com All-Region VII, while senior Daniel Gladden (Galena, OH / Olentangy Berlin) and freshman Corbin Marshall (Doylestown, OH / Chippewa) garnered third-team recognition. On the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region VII team, Rodriguez, Chilicki, and Nemunaitis earned first team awards and Gladden and Landon Turner (Tipp City, OH / Tippecanoe) were named to the third team.

Rodriguez, a first baseman, provided a lot of offensive firepower for the Tigers this season, driving in 73 runs to lead the team, while also leading the team in home runs with 15, which led to the Tigers breaking the program record for home runs in a season with 53. Not only did the team break the single season home run record, but Rodriguez’s 15 home runs broke the single-season record for home runs by an individual player. He also becomes first in single season RBIs and second in program history for career RBIs. He was one of three Tigers that also earned first-team All-NCAC honors.

Chilicki, a second baseman who qualifies as a utility player since he also pitches, also earned first-team All-NCAC honors after a providing season-long consistency in the field, at the plate, and on the mound. He ended the season with the second-best batting average on the team at .429. He tied for the team lead in doubles as well and drove in the second-most runs with 60. Not going unnoticed, Chilicki also closed out the season with a .956 fielding percentage.

Nemunaitis, a third baseman, was stellar for the Tigers all season as he also earned first-team All-NCAC honors and was top three in the nation in batting average, while also leading the team at .451. While keeping his batting average up, he broke the program career record for hit by pitch, which happened 22 times this past season. Along the way, he led the team in total bases with 132 and hits with 82. He was also a force at third base, logging 69 assists with a fielding percentage of .939.

Gladden, an outfielder, was the first Tiger recognized on the All-Region Third Team and earned All-NCAC Second Team honors this season. He hit 12 home runs this season to be second on the team, while driving in 51 runs and logging over 100 total bases. Even with his great porduction at the plate this season, he also had a fielding percentage of .955.

Marshall was recognized by D3baseball.com as a designated hitter after an incredible season at the dish. To go along with a second-team All-NCAC selection, Marshall recorded more than 60 hits, including 15 doubles to tie for third on the team, and he drove home 47 runs in his first season of collegiate baseball.

Turner made the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region team as an outfielder in only his sophomore season after earning second-team All-NCAC honors after the regular season. He batted .412 on the season. In only 36 games, he logged 54 hits and drove in 23 runs with 71 total bases. He was second on the team with 19 walks and was fifth in stolen bases with five.

All six of the Tigers named to the Region VII All-Region teams were part of one of the best seasons in Wittenberg Baseball history. The Tigers surpassed 30 wins in a season for just the third time ever after posting records of 31-13 overall and 12-4 in conference play, which led to an at-large postseason berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.