PHILADELPHIA – Five members of the Saint Joseph's baseball team pulled in Big 5 Baseball postseason honors on Wednesday afternoon. Justin Aungst, John Brue, and Stefan Kancylarz were named to the All-Big 5 Team, Deon Stafford was chosen as the Big 5 Rookie of the Year, and Taylor Boyd was tabbed for the Big 5 All-Academic Team.
Aungst, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection, appeared in 16 games, making four starts, and posted a 5-0 record with one save and a sparkling 1.60 earned run average, which was the lowest in the conference among all qualified pitchers. He fanned 47 hitters in 50 and two-thirds innings and held opposing hitters to a .217 average, good for third in the conference. Aungst was twice named the league's Rookie of the Week.
A First Team All-Atlantic 10 honoree, Brue was second on the squad in batting average, turning in a .322 mark after starting all 49 games for the Hawks. He led SJU in runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage, and tied for the team lead in hits as well. Brue ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in home runs with 13, which set a new single-season Saint Joseph's record; he also established a new school record with a 22-game hitting streak.
Kancylarz, making his second consecutive All-Big 5 Team, graduated as SJU's all-time leader in plate appearances (900) and posted a .303 career batting average, finishing his tenure on Hawk Hill fourth in program history with 228 hits. He ranks second in school history in at bats (753), walks (120), and triples (12), fifth in doubles (46), seventh in runs batted in (122), and tied for fifth in games played (202). His 34-game on-base streak that spanned from late 2014 into 2015 is also the top mark in SJU history as well.
Stafford, who was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper/Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team earlier Wednesday, led the Hawks with a .341 batting average and 19 doubles. He finished his first collegiate campaign in the top 13 in the Atlantic 10 in average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, while tying for third in the league in doubles. Stafford excelled behind the plate as well, posting a .995 fielding percentage (second among all fielders with as many chances) and throwing out 11 runners attempting to steal. For his efforts, he was named to both the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team and the All-Rookie Team.
Boyd finished the season with a .272 average, driving in 22 runs from the second base position. He hit .310 in conference play and ranked third on the team in runs batted in in A-10 games; he also led the Hawks in stolen bases over the course of the season.
Stafford is the first Hawk to earn Big 5 Rookie of the Year honors in the 10-year history of the organization. Penn took four of the six major awards as Austin Bossart was named the Player of the Year and Mike Reitcheck earned Pitcher of the Year honors. The Quakers were voted the Team of the Year and head coach John Yurkow pulled in Coach of the Year accolades. Ryan Welling of La Salle was named the Student-Athlete of the Year.
2015 Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball All-Big 5 Team
C – Austin Bossart, Penn
1B – Matt McKinnon, Penn
2B – Todd Czinege, Villanova
SS – Mitch Montaldo, Penn
3B – Stefan Kancylarz, Saint Joseph's
3B - Josh Savakinus, La Salle
OF – John Brue, Saint Joseph's
OF – Cameron Johnson, La Salle
OF – Justin Korenblatt, La Salle
DH – Joey Ravert, La Salle
SP – Jake Cousins, Penn
SP – Luke Reilly, La Salle
SP – Mike Reitcheck, Penn
SP – Mike Sgaramella, Villanova
RP – Justin Aungst, Saint Joseph's
2015 Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball All-Academic Team
Taylor Boyd, Saint Joseph's
Ronnie Glenn, Penn
Kagan Richardson, Villanova
Ryan Welling, La Salle
Player of the Year – Austin Bossart, Penn
Pitcher of the Year – Mike Reitcheck, Penn
Rookie of the Year – Deon Stafford, Saint Joseph's
Student-Athlete of the Year – Ryan Welling, La Salle
Team of the Year – Penn
Coach of the Year – John Yurkow, Penn
