May 11

Rickstad and Sulek named first-team All-MIAA
Third-straight year for Rickstad, Meyers and Carr named to second team

ADRIAN, Mich.—After finishing in second place in the conference, several members of the Adrian College baseball team have been named All-MIAA.

Bobby Rickstad and Ryan Sulek were the lone Bulldogs to appear on the All-MIAA first team, while Todd Meyers and Anthony Carr were named second-team all-league.

Rickstad, a junior pitcher/third baseman from Kalamazoo (Comstock) earned his third-straight appearance on the first team after going undefeated in conference play on the mound. The right-hander led the MIAA in wins with nine, which also set an Adrian College single-season record. He was 7-0 in conference play, the only MIAA starting pitcher to go through conference play undefeated. In the conference, he ranked second in strike outs with 48 and had a 2.87 ERA with 30 strike outs in 47 innings pitched.

Rickstad was nearly as impressive in the field and at the plate. He hit .316 with a .436 slugging percentage. He started all 40 AC games, smacking eight doubles, a triple and two home runs, while driving in 29 runs. At third base he fielded at a .908 clip with 59 assists and 20 put outs against just eight errors.

Sulek, a senior centerfielder from Roseville (St. Clements), led the MIAA in runs scored with 43 and hit by pitches with 13. He tied for the league lead in stolen bases with 17, ranked second in total plate appearances with 171 and third in at-bats with 134.

Sulek ended the season hitting .313 with six doubles and eight RBI from the lead-off spot. He also had an impressive .446 on-base percentage. The senior has an additional honor coming up when he will be enshrined into the Catholic League Hall of Fame for his prep play at St. Clements High School.

Meyers, a sophomore shortstop from Adrian (Adrian) was named to the All-MIAA second-team after leading the conference in RBI with 37. He also posted league-bests in sacrifice hits with five scoring fly-outs and 11 sacrifice bunts. Meyers trailed only Sulek in the conference in hit-by-pitches with 12, while ranking fourth in plate appearances with 158. The sophomore hit .319 on the year with six doubles, 11 walks, 30 runs and 44 total bases. He was also 11-for-13 on stolen base attempts.

At shortstop, Meyers ranked third in the MIAA with 104 assists. He lead AC in double plays turned with 19 and had a .925 fielding percentage.

Carr, a sophomore outfielder from Hudson (Hudson), hit .318 on the season with 29 runs and 16 RBI. He belted five doubles and three triples in ’07, for a .418 slugging percentage. He stole 16 bases and tied for the MIAA lead with Meyers for sacrifice hits with 11.

In the outfield, Carr recorded 39 put outs and fielded at a .907 clip.

The Bulldogs’ Alex Webster, Xander Younce, Steve Vanderheyden and Alex Cowart received coaches’ honorable mention.

Webster, a sophomore pitcher from Waterford (Our Lady of the Lakes) had a team-low 2.43 ERA in MIAA play with a 3-1 record on the mound. In 33 1/3 innings pitched against MIAA foes, Webster recorded just nine earned runs and struck out 12, while walking only one.

Younce, a junior catcher from Livonia (Churchill), was phenomenal behind the plate, throwing out 17 of 34 steal attempts. In league play he threw out 14 of 22 steal attempts, while being charged for just three passed balls. Offensively, Younce hit .260 with 16 RBI, two doubles and a home run.

Vanderheyden, a freshman second baseman from Clarkston (Clarkston), stepped immediately into the infield of a conference championship contender and recorded 71 put outs and 88 assists while turning 16 double plays. On the year he hit .282 with five doubles, a triple and 17 RBI.

Cowart, a freshman outfielder/designated hitter from Dearborn (Edsel Ford), led the Bulldogs offensively with a .375 batting average, nine doubles and led the MIAA with four triples in conference play. He had a .613 slugging percentage and drove in 16 RBI while drawing 10 walks and scoring 29 runs.

The Bulldogs ended the season at 24-16 overall and 20-8 in the MIAA with a 12-2 mark at Riverside Park. This year marks their fifth-straight 20-win season and fourth-straight year of finishing either first or second in MIAA play.