All-PAC Baseball Teams and Award Winners Announced

5/16/2023 2:00:00 PM

TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) announced its All-PAC Baseball teams and annual award winners Tuesday afternoon. The league's 11 head coaches voted to determine the All-PAC teams, along with the PAC's yearly award winners.

The 2023 PAC Champion Washington & Jefferson College Presidents claimed three of the four major awards. Senior outfielder/pitcher Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) earned a rare double-award, as he was chosen as PAC Player of the Year, as well as PAC Pitcher of the Year. In addition, W&J head coach Jeff Mountain, now in his 21st season, was voted the PAC Coach of the Year. 

Earning the PAC Newcomer of the Year award was Grove City freshman outfielder Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township).

Now a three-time First Team All-PAC selection, Horvat is W&J's 10th player of the year in program history and eighth since the 2005 season. He is also the ninth President to earn Pitcher of the Year and is the first PAC player to be chosen as the Player and Pitcher of the Year in the same season since the conference started giving out separate awards in 2010.

Horvat patrolled center field and was a standout leadoff hitter for W&J, as he tied for the league-lead with 65 hits and stole a PAC-best 27 bases. He also ranked in the top seven in the PAC in batting average (seventh at .392); seventh in OPS (1.041); runs scored (second with 48); triples (tied for second with six); walks (third with 31) and on-base percentage (fifth at .487).

When he took the mound, Horvat was equally dominant. His 11-2 record led the PAC in wins, as did his 90 1/3 innings pitched and four complete games, which all came against league opponents. He ranked third in the conference with a 3.28 ERA and struck out 82 batters, good for second in the league. 

Horvat's efforts in PAC games powered the Presidents' to a 17-3 conference record and the top seed following the regular season. With the bat, he hit .438 (35-80) in 20 games against PAC teams with 13 extra-base hits, 25 runs scored and 16 RBIs. As a pitcher, Horvat posted a 7-0 record with 56 Ks in 57 innings pitched and allowed teams to hit just .203 against him.

Sampson is the second straight Grove City player to earn Newcomer of the year after current sophomore Mally Kilbane (Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls) was recognized last year. The first-year outfielder started in all 37 games he played in and batted .352 with nine doubles and four triples among his 51 hits. Sampson scored 41 runs and knocked in 27 while also drawing 22 walks and posting a .442 on-base percentage.

Also a Second Team All-PAC selection, Sampson played flawless defense, handling all 47 chances without an error. His top performance during in his freshman campaign was in game one of an April 12th doubleheader at Geneva when he was 4-for-6 with a double, triple, five RBIs and two runs scored in a 20-6 Wolverine victory.

This is Mountain's 11th Coach of the Year award. He guided W&J to the top seed in this year's PAC Championship Tournament and the program's fourth-straight league title. It was the 15th conference championship in program history and 11th claimed by W&J under Mountain. This marked the 12th straight season W&J advanced to the tournament's title round. 

Also announced Tuesday were the members of this year's PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC's Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to both recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all conference teams.


As the PAC Championship Tournament winner, W&J (31-12) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. W&J is making its 10th appearance in the Division III tournament and will open regional play Friday against host Misericordia (33-12) in Dallas, Pa. Salve Regina (37-8-1) is the top seed in the Regional, while Misericordia is second, W&J is third and Keystone (30-12) is fourth. 

Winners of the sixteen regional tournaments will qualify for eight, best-of-three series at the super regionals, Friday-Saturday, May 26-27. The eight super regional winners will then qualify for the pool play double-elimination championship at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Friday-Thursday, June 2-8, 2023.
 

PAC Award Winners
Player of the Year: Washington & Jefferson College senior outfielder/pitcher Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford)
Pitcher of the Year: Washington & Jefferson College senior right-hander Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford)
Newcomer of the Year: Grove City College freshman outfielder Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township)
Coach of the Year: Washington & Jefferson College 21st-year head coach Jeff Mountain

 
All-PAC First Team
Position Name Class School Hometown | High School
C C.J. Saylor Sr. Grove City Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield
1B Billy Perroz Jr. Saint Vincent Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area
1B Nolan Lutz Jr. W&J McDonald, Pa./South Fayette
2B David Toruno Jr. Geneva Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley
SS Jacob LaDuca So. W&J Clarence, N.Y./Canisius
SS Benny Dottle Jr. Chatham New Castle, Pa./Shenango
3B Mally Kilbane So. Grove City Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls
OF Tyson Bryant-Dawson So. Allegheny Oakland, Calif./Manvel (Texas)
OF Jordan Sabol Sr. Saint Vincent Export, Pa./Penn-Trafford
OF Evan Sante Sr. W&J Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum
DH Shane Cato So. Grove City New Castle, Pa./Shenango
UTIL Tyler Horvat Sr. W&J Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford
P Tate Ostrowski 5th Grove City Essex, Mass./Covenant Christian
P David Leslie So. Grove City Butler, Pa./Butler
P Michael Klingensmith Sr. Saint Vincent Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
 
All-PAC Second Team
Position Name Class School Hometown | High School
C Chase Morrison Jr. Thiel Monaca, Pa./Central Valley
1B Carter Chinn Jr. Westminster Grove City, Pa./Grove City
2B Sullivan Schueltz Sr. Allegheny Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley
2B Colton Stoneman Sr. Bethany West Farmington, Ohio/Labrae Local
SS Luke Vittone So. Grove City Seven Fields, Pa./Eden Christian
SS Logan Murgenovich Jr. Westminster Aliquippa, Pa./Central Valley
3B Jake Bredl Jr. Chatham Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area
OF Ryan Dougherty Jr. Allegheny Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny
OF Nick Roell Jr. Bethany Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle
OF Nick Sampson Fr. Grove City Venetia, Pa./Peters Township
DH Tyler Cote So. Chatham Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills
UTIL Brendan Burke Sr. Franciscan Pinckney, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central
UTIL Bryce Bedilion So. Waynesburg Clarksville, Pa./Jefferson-Morgan
P Evan Umland So. Grove City Pasadena, Calif./La Canada
P Kolton Banfi Jr. Westminster Harrisville, Pa./Franklin
 
Honorable Mention All-PAC
Position Name Class School Hometown | High School
C CJ Owen Fr. Bethany Austin, Texas/Elgin
C Caleb Lehman Grad. Chatham Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
1B Brady Nolin So. Allegheny Cumberland, Maine/Greely
1B Markus Williams Jr. Grove City Sewickley, Pa./Eden Christian
2B Lucca Baccari Jr. Grove City Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford
3B Braeden Campbell So. Westminster Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler
OF Nico Cuello Grad. Chatham Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian
OF Josh Minnich So. Grove City Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley
OF Seth Johnson Sr. Thiel Magnolia, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley
OF Brandon Cooper Sr. Westminster Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny
OF Seth Schrader Grad. Westminster Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia
DH Josh Speaker So. Bethany Steubenville, Ohio/Indian Creek
DH Nick Guarnieri Sr. Thiel Niles, Ohio/McKinley
UTIL Alec Berg Sr. Bethany  Beaver, Pa./ Beaver
P Brent Herrmann Jr. Allegheny Canfield, Ohio/Canfield
P Mark Schweickert So. Allegheny Glen Allen, Va./John Randolph Tucker
P Jeremy Kreuzwieser Fr. Saint Vincent Canfield, Ohio/Ursuline
P Mason Kolbe Sr. W&J Bradenton, Fla./Out-of-Door Academy
P Logan Exler Jr. Westminster Verona, Pa./Serra Catholic 
P Jake Vitale So. Westminster New Castle, Pa./Union