MCC baseball players earn post-season honors

Monday, June 14, 2010

McCook Community College enjoyed one of the best baseball campaigns in the history of the sport at the two-year school, and several standouts on the 2010 Indians roster were rewarded with post-season honors.

MCC finished the season with a 29-28 record and a berth in the four-team Empire Conference playoffs. The Indians, under head coach Jon Olsen, went 29-14 after losing their first 14 games this spring.

McCook C.C. had five players selected to the All-Region IX post-season squad, including a pair of first-team all-region selections. Coach Olsen said the five all-region selections are the most in MCC baseball program history. This spring marked the first time the Indians have had two first-team all-region picks in the same year.

The MCC first-team selections are first baseman Tommy Barnes and outfielder David DeCarlo.

Barnes, a freshman from Las Vegas, had a .374 batting average this past spring. Barnes set MCC school records for hits (73), runs batted in (51) and at-bats (195). He also hit 16 doubles and 7 home runs and scored 37 runs.

DeCarlo, a freshman from Las Vegas, finished with a .364 batting average in 187 official plate appearahces. DeCarlo had 68 hits, including a school-record 19 doubles plus 2 home runs, along with 35 RBI and 39 runs scored.

Second-team picks

McCook's All-Region IX second-team selections were second-baseman Andrew Behan, third baseman Tyler Vessey and pitcher Matt Stachura.

Behan, a sophomore from Fountain, Colorado, set MCC school records with 49 runs scored and 17 stolen bases in 2010. Behan hit .358 this past season in 173 at-bats. He recorded 62 hits, including 7 doubles and 4 triples, with 21 RBI.

Vessey, a sophomore from Littleton, Colorado, ended the season with a .301 batting average in 156 officials trips to the plate. Vessey had 47 hits, 6 doubles, 22 RBi and 26 runs scored.

Stachura was the ace of the MCC pitching staff. The freshman from Scotia, Nebraska, had a 7-1 win-loss record and a 1.29 earned run average in 65 1/3 innings pitched. His win total and ERA were new McCook school records.

Opposing hitters managed a .178 average batting against Stachura this past spring. Matt recorded 36 strikeouts and allowed just 26 walks.

Division I signee

MCC sophomore closer Mike Hebert, a sophomore from Lakewood, Colorado, will continue his college baseball career at the Division I level.

Coach Olsen reported that Hebert, a right-handed pitcher, has signed with Austin Peay State University. Austin Peay, located in Clarksville, Tennessee, is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Governors finished the 2010 season with a 28-25 record.

Strong nucleus returns

The Indians should field an even tougher team next spring.

Coach Olsen loses just eight sophomores from the 2010 roster. But MCC will need to find replacements for solid starters Vessey and Behan in the infield, catcher Zach Johnstone (Fort Collins, Colorado), and outfielder Nick Bertron (Longmont, Colorado). Coach Olsen also loses four quality pitchers in Hebert, Jake Anderson (Littleton, Colorado), Jeff Patten (Arvada, Colorado) and Jesse Zeller (Lincoln).

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: