Ashland University head coach John Schaly has been named the Midwest Region Division II Coach of the Year the American Baseball Coaches Association recently announced.
Schaly led the Eagles to their sixth NCAA Division II World Series appearance in program history, and the fifth time Schaly has led the program to the final stage. It is also the fifth time the ABCA Hall of Famer has been recognized as the Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
The Eagles matched the program record with 48 wins in 2019, claiming 23 come-from-behind victories and 11 in their last at-bat. AU won the GLIAC regular season and tournament titles, and earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region.
Ashland bounced back from an NCAA Tournament-opening loss to Tiffin at Kent State to win four straight and advance to the super-regional at Donges Field. The Eagles won Game 1 of the series, then walked off Illinois Springfield in the decisive third game to go to the World Series in Cary, N.C. There, AU went 1-2, earning an 8-3 win over NYIT in between a pair of defeats to Central Missouri.
The Eagles set the program record for strikeouts by the pitching staff with 537. Ashland also went 9-0 in postseason elimination games going into their final game at the World Series.
Additional awards garnered by the Eagles for the 2019 campaign included:
Slavik is a first team All-American, named the best relief pitcher in Division II by the ABCA tonight! ⚾️�� pic.twitter.com/xFu1D9MYg5
— Ashland University Eagles (@goashlandeagles) June 1, 2019
ABCA All-America
First team – Chris Slavik, relief pitcher
D2CCA All-America
Third team – Chris Slavik, relief pitcher
NCBWA All-America
Honorable mention – Carson Mittermaier, designated hitter
Honorable mention – Chris Slavik, relief pitcher
ABCA All-Midwest Region
First team – Chris Slavik, relief pitcher
Second team – Devin Peters, starting pitcher
D2CCA All-Midwest Region
First team – Austin Eifrid, shortstop
First team – Carson Mittermaier, designated hitter
First team – Devin Peters, starting pitcher
First team – Chris Slavik, relief pitcher
Second team – Chance Hitchcock, starting pitcher
NCBWA All-Midwest Region
Coach of the Year – John Schaly
First team – Carson Mittermaier, designated hitter
First team – Chris Slavik, relief pitcher
Second team – Austin Eifrid, shortstop
Second team – Devin Peters, starting pitcher
AU
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