Hanson, Soltys & Luke Named ECAC All-Stars; Hanson Voted DIII South Player of the Year
CENTERVILLE, Mass. --- The Moravian College baseball team has had three players named to the 2014 ECAC Division III South All-Star Teams with junior right fielder Matt Hanson and senior relief pitcher Chris Soltys on the First Team and junior third baseman Ryan Luke honored on the Second Team. Hanson was also selected as the ECAC DIII South Player of the Year, his third Player of the Year honor this spring.
CENTERVILLE, Mass. --- The Moravian College baseball team has had three players named to the 2014 ECAC Division III South All-Star Teams with junior right fielder Matt Hanson and senior relief pitcher Chris Soltys on the First Team and junior third baseman Ryan Luke honored on the Second Team. Hanson was also selected as the ECAC DIII South Player of the Year, his third Player of the Year honor this spring.
The trio helped lead the Hounds to a school-record 32 victories this season as the squad posted a 32-12 mark. Moravian earned an at-large berth into the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament as the top seed in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Hounds were 14-4 in the Landmark Conference regular season and the top seed in the Landmark Tournament where the squad finished as the runner-up. Moravian earned its first national ranking this spring, and finished the year ranked No. 25 in the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
Hanson adds to a postseason award this that also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team, the D3baseball.com All-America Second Team, the D3baseball.com Mid-Atlantic Region's Player of the Year, D3baseball.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team, the ABCA/Rawlings All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team, the 2014 Landmark Player of the Year and Landmark All-Conference First Team.
Hanson hit .408 this season, the sixth-best season in school history while starting all 43 games he played in. He had 62 hits, which was tied for the team lead with Luke and is also tied for second in a single season in the Moravian record books. Hanson scored 53 runs in 2014, just one shy of the school record and his 48 RBIs were the third most in a single season. He also paced the Greyhounds with three homers this season, and connected on 10 doubles and four triples for 89 total bases, the fifth most in a season, and a .586 slugging percentage, which is eighth in the record books. Hanson drew 25 walks and was hit by a pitch another 13 times, one shy of the single season mark, for a .518 on-base percentage, second in the record books, and he added 13 stolen bases. In his right field position, Hanson recorded 72 putouts and three assists in 77 chances.
Soltys also added to an extensive list of awards this spring after earning spots on the D3baseball.com All-America Third Team, the D3baseball.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team, the ABCA/Rawlings All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team and the Landmark All-Conference First Team. He pitched in 19 of the Greyhounds' 44 contests this spring, and Soltys posted a 6-1 record to go along with four saves. He allowed four earned runs in 41.2 innings of action for a 0.86 ERA, the second lowest in a single season at Moravian. He struck out 47 batters and allowed 12 walks. Listed as a closer, Soltys tossed more than one inning in 10 of his 19 appearances over the last three months including a pair of stints of more than five innings. Soltys completed his career with an 11-3 record, and his .786 winning percentage is fourth in school history. He is also second all-time with nine career saves and ninth with 116 career strikeouts in 120 innings on the mound.
Luke, who was on the Landmark All-Conference First Team and ABCA/Rawlings Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team this spring, played in all 44 games this season with a .367 average. Luke was one of five Greyhounds to reach 100 career hits this spring and his 62 hits in 2014 give him 120 hits heading into his senior year. Luke scored 38 runs this season and also contributed 39 RBIs. He led the squad with 16 doubles and was one of three players with four triples for 86 total bases and a .509 slugging percentage. Luke drew 19 bases on balls and was hit by a pitch five times for a .437 on-base percentage, and he led the Hounds with nine sacrifices including five bunts to go along with 13 stolen bases. Luke was second on the squad with 90 assists in the field to go with 27 putouts in 130 chances at third base.
To view the entire 2014 ECAC Division III South All-Star Teams, visit http://www.ecacsports.com//sports/spring/bsb/AllStars/2014/south%20announcement.
