Grinnell College baseball players Mike Nodzenski ’12 and Ben Pope ’12 have repeated as Midwest Conference South Division Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, in a vote of league coaches.
They were joined by several other Pioneers as Grinnell boasted six of the 15 All-MWC South Division Team members. Others on the All-Division Team were Michael Goldfien ’12, Greg Suryn ’11, Matt Skelly ’12 and Will Pahos ’14. Nodzenski is a three-time All-Division selection, while Pope, Goldfien and Suryn are two-time picks.
Grinnell’s Tim Hollibaugh was also named the MWC South Division Coach of the Year for the second season in a row and the fourth time in his career.
Nodzenski, a catcher from Naperville, Ill. (Naperville North), is the division’s Player of the Year for the third time in a row and currently ranks among the national leaders in several categories. He is fourth in slugging percentage (.850), fifth in batting average (.465) and on-base percentage (.556) and sixth in home runs (12). He leads the MWC in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs, RBI (47) and total bases (91) and is second in on-base percentage and runs scored (38). He has Grinnell school records for RBI and home runs in a career, as well as RBI in a game (nine), home runs in a game (three) and home runs in a season.
Pope, who is from Maryville, Tenn. (Alcoa), was again the ace of a Pioneer pitching staff that gave opponents fits all season. He went 4-3 and had a 3.88 ERA, which ranked among the league’s leaders. He was also third in the conference in strikeouts with 49 and fourth in innings pitched with 65. His innings pitched, strikeouts and opponent batting average (.257) marks were tops on the Grinnell team.
Suryn, a left fielder/designated hitter from Littleton, Colo. (Front Range Christian), led the MWC in both doubles with 18 and triples with seven. His mark for triples ranks ninth nationally. Additionally, he is second in the league in slugging percentage (.700) and total bases (91), fifth in runs scored (36) and sixth in batting average (.385). He has the Grinnell record for triples in a season and career.
Goldfien, a shortstop from Mill Valley, Calif. (Tamiscal), had another stellar season where he ranked third in the MWC in both runs scored (38) and fielding assists (99). He was also fifth in the league in batting average (.386) and on-base percentage (.497). Goldfien was the Pioneers’ second-leading hitter after Nodzenski.
Skelly, a right fielder from Phoenix, Ariz. (St. Mary’s), was among the league’s leading hitters with a .342 batting average. He also ranked second on the team in home runs with three and had a .381 on-base percentage to go along with a .956 fielding percentage.
Pahos, a pitcher from Clarendon Hills, Ill. (Hinsdale Central), complemented Pope to spark the successful Pioneer mound staff. He led the team and was fourth in the league in ERA at 3.18, and was also the top Pioneer in terms of victories while compiling a 5-1 mark. That total ranked third in the conference. He also struck out 39 batters and had a .268 opponent batting average, both second-best on the team.
In the North Division, John Henrickson of Ripon College was named Player of the Year and Jason Wierschke of Ripon was the Pitcher of the Year.
2011 All-Midwest Conference Baseball Release
