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2004 Baseball All-Conference Team

McKendree College wins fifth consecutive AMC Tournament Championship

St. Louis, Mo. – For the fifth consecutive year, the McKendree Bearcats are the American Midwest Conference Tournament Champions. The Bearcats entered the four-team, double elimination league playoff as the No. 2 seed and defeated No. 4 William Woods University 7-2 in today’s title contest. As the tournament champion and runner-up, both teams will advance to the NAIA Region V Playoff, which is scheduled for May 12-15 at T.R. Hughes Stadium in O’Fallon, Mo.

In a vote by league coaches, Brian Dinkelman, a sophomore shortstop for the McKendree Bearcats, is the AMC Player of the Year. Dinkelman, who was the AMC Freshman of the Year a year ago, played in 60 games during the regular season and tallied a .448 batting average. In 212 at-bats, the Irvington, Ill. native knocked 95 hits, including 21 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. He also totaled 45 RBI, scored 86 runs and swiped 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts. Dinkelman was also solid defensively, posting 112 put-outs while committing only 12 fielding errors.

Lance Marcum, a sophomore pitcher for the Bearcats, is the AMC Pitcher of the Year.  Marcum, who hails from Centralia, Ill., notched an 11-2 record during the regular season, throwing 87.2 innings. He faced 366 batters and allowed just 26 earned runs for a season ERA of 2.67.

The AMC Newcomer of the Year honor is presented to the top transfer student-athlete in the AMC. Jerrod Spears, a senior catcher for the William Woods University Owls, is the 2004 recipient of the award. The Ponca City, Okla. native played in 60 games and recorded a .377 batting average. He totaled 69 hits in 183 at-bats, including 25 doubles, four triples and nine home runs. Spears logged 62 RBI and committed only eight fielding errors, while recording 274 put-outs.

Ryan Meyler, a rookie pitcher for McKendree College, is the 2004 AMC Freshman of the Year. Meyler, who is a resident of O’Fallon, Ill., made 11 appearances on the mound for the Bearcats during the regular season, posting a mark of six wins and two losses. He pitched 53.2 innings and logged an ERA of 3.69. Meyler faced 224 batters and gave up only 22 earned runs.

For the second consecutive season, the AMC Coach of the Year is Eddie Uschold from Missouri Baptist University. Uschold, who is in his fourth season at the helm of the Missouri Baptist program, led the Spartans to their second straight league title, going 17-3 vs. league foes and 38-23 overall.

A complete list of the 18-member AMC all-conference first team, the honorable mention squad and the academic all-conference team, is included below. Members of the academic all-conference team have earned at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

2004 AMC All-Conference Baseball Team

Player of the Year

Pitcher of the Year

Brian Dinkelman (SS), McKendree College

Lance Marcum, McKendree College

Newcomer of the Year
Freshman of the Year

Jerrod Spears (C), William Woods University

Ryan Meyler (P), McKendree College

Coach of the Year

Eddie Uschold, Missouri Baptist University

First Team All-Conference

Player/Position

School

Jarrett Reardon, Outfielder

Hannibal-LaGrange College

Brian Dinkelman, Shortstop

McKendree College

Luis Rivera, Utility Pitcher

Missouri Baptist University

Chad Kingston, Third Baseman

McKendree College

Lance Marcum, Pitcher

McKendree College

Tim Nagel, Outfielder

McKendree College

Justin Powers, Catcher

McKendree College

Jim Queern, Designated Hitter

McKendree College

Dustin Richert, First Baseman

McKendree College

Dave Allison, Outfielder

Missouri Baptist University

Garrett Bauer, Pitcher

Missouri Baptist University

Chris Crowder, Second Baseman

Missouri Baptist University

Jason Hardin, Third Baseman

Missouri Baptist University

Jon Kars, Pitcher

Missouri Baptist University

Jerrod Spears, Catcher

William Woods University

Matt Ungs, Pitcher

William Woods University

Trevor York, Utility Infielder

William Woods University

Caleb Williams, Outfielder

Williams Baptist College

Honorable Mention All-Conference

Pitchers

Catchers

Second Basemen

Jarrett Reardon, Hannibal-LaGrange College

Kevin Jett, Missouri Baptist University

Joe Brooks, Hannibal-LaGrange College

Josh Basinski, McKendree College

Beau Hamblin, Missouri Baptist University

 

Ryan Meyler, McKendree College

 

Outfielders

Matt Boyer, William Woods University

Designated Hitters

Corey Stairs, Harris-Stowe State College

Jesse Bahr, Missouri Baptist University

David Stone, William Woods University

Matt Gordon, Hannibal-LaGrange College

Luis Rivera, Missouri Baptist University

Jason Hodge, Missouri Baptist University

Drew Smith, Missouri Baptist University

 

 

Josh Costello, Missouri Baptist University

Utility Pitchers

First Basemen

 

Matt Spotanski, McKendree College

Kyle Stortzum, Hannibal-LaGrange College

 

 

Alex Dzatko, Missouri Baptist University

 

Utility Infielders

 

 

Nick Kennedy, McKendree College

 

 

Josh Costello, Missouri Baptist University

 

 

2004 American Midwest Conference
Academic All-Conference Team

Harris-Stowe State College
Sean Brown

Hannibal-LaGrange College
 Sam Bonney, Michael Carmi, Matt Gordon, Josh Kingery, Patrick Kohm, David Kuntz, Austin McDowell, Zac McVey, Jarrett Reardon, Kyle Stortzum

McKendree College
Todd Bauer, John Cann, Tom Cowell, Darin Degenhart, Brian Dinkelman, Drew Gericke, Matt Germann, Michael Harrison, Kellen Kettwich, Chad Kingston, Joseph Knobbe, Aaron Kremmel, Lance Marcum, Tim Nagel, Woody Newsom, Jason Noeldner, Shane Oertwig, Shawn Oertwig, Dustin Richert, Matt Spotanski, Joel Stults, Josh Wahlig, Kevin Wilkins, Derek Wilson

Missouri Baptist University
David Allison, James Burrus, Joshua Costello, Alex Dzatko, Chad Hinds, Jason Packard, Michael Savadge, Jacob Shore

William Woods University
Matt Clark, Kendall Clavin, Ryan Mansfield, Craig Pryor, Tyler Yates, Trevor York

Williams Baptist College
Scott Arnold, Jarrod Bailey, Cody Curtis, Andrew Dodd, Kyle George, Jeff McKnight, Ryan Wallace, Caleb Williams
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