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BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Shortstop
Nick Maton of the Eastern Illinois University baseball team was selected as a representative of the All-OVC Freshman team, as voted on by the head baseball coaches and sports information directors of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Maton ended a fine freshman campaign batting .299 on the season, going 55-for-184 at the plate. He recorded 12 doubles, four triples, and three home runs. He drove in 24 runs on the season while scoring 28 of his own. His four triples tied for fifth in the OVC. As the everyday shortstop for the Panthers, he finished in ninth place in conference games in fielding double plays and seventh in assists in all games. In the final four games of the season, Maton batted .571 (8-for-14) with five runs scored, five doubles, a triple, home run, and seven RBI and earned OVC Co-Player of the Week honors.Â
Other members named to the OVC All-Freshman team included Chas Hadden, Hunter Holland, and Kyle Klotz of Belmont; Reid Leonard, Niko Hulsizer, Hunter Fain, and Trevor Snyder of Morehead State; Jaron Robinson of Murray State; Logan Andersen of SIUE; and Ethan Roberts, Alex Junior, and Kevin Strohschein of Tennessee Tech.
Mandy Alvarez of Eastern Kentucky and Strohschein of Tennessee Tech shared OVC 'Player of the Year' honors, with Strohschein also being named as 'Rookie of the Year'; Joey Lucchesi of Southeast Missouri was named as the OVC 'Pitcher of the Year'; Steve Bieser of Southeast Missouri was named the OVC 'Coach of the Year.'
The Panthers ended the 2016 season with an overall record of 15-39 and 8-22 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Eastern Illinois finished their season strong, winning eight of their last 10 games, including four straight to close the year.
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