LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Nine members of The Rock hardball team were named Thursday to All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division honors in voting by the division's head coaches.
Six Rock players earned first-team honors, while three others garnered second-team status.
SRU's first-team selections included sophomore first baseman Matt Adams, junior right fielder Scott Bender, senior relief pitcher Mike DeCola, senior catcher Jim Eimiller, junior third baseman Billy Herman and senior center fielder #M.J. Parsons#.
Named to second-team status were sophomore second baseman Billy Messer, junior shortstop Rich Michalek and senior starting pitcher Chris Squeglia.
The all-conference honor was the third earned by Herman in as many seasons. He was a second-team selection in both 2006 (second base) and 2007 (third base).
Adams, Bender and Parsons each earned all-conference honors for the second straight season. Adams was the PSAC-West "Rookie of the Year" and a first-team All-PSAC-West selection in 2007, while Parsons earned first-team status and Bender was a second-team pick.
Adams batted .455 with eight doubles, one triple, a team-best eight home runs and a team-high 43 RBIs this spring.
Bender batted .418 with 12 doubles, five triples, five HRs and 34 RBIs. He tied for the team lead in doubles and led the team in triples.
Eimiller batted .303 with eight doubles and 19 RBIs this spring.
Herman hit .346 with 11 doubles, one triple, two HRs and 32 RBIs.
Messer hit .241 with six doubles, two HRs and 15 RBIs.
Michalek had a .386 batting average, 10 doubles, two triples, five HRs, 31 RBIs and was 24-of-27 in stolen base attempts.
Parsons compiled a .338 average with 12 doubles, six HRs and 35 RBIs. He tied for the team lead in doubles and ranked second in both roundtrippers and RBIs.
Squeglia was The Rock's ace this spring and finished with a 5-3 record and 5.55 ERA. He struck out 26 and walked 17 in 47 innings pitched.
DeCola was 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA as SRU's stopper. He struck out 29 and walked 15 in 39.1 IP.
The nine all-conference performers led The Rock to a third-place finish in this year's PSAC-West competition.
