Press Release Written by Sports Information Graduate Intern MaryKate Rumbaugh
NEWARK, Del. – Following the 2019 Wilmington University baseball team's season, the 2019 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the All-East Region Teams, which included five student-athletes throughout the two teams.
Junior Eddie Nevins was named the 2019 NCBWA East Region Player of the Year, with Luke Johnson joining him on the First Team list. Senior Kendall Small was named NCBWA Second Team, as Dan Hyatt and Brad Scull were named Honorable Mention.
Nevins (Fairfax, Va./South County) finished out his record-breaking season batting .440 on the year, which ranked him third across all of NCAA Division II and second in the Region. The utility player recorded 77 hits this season, including 15 doubles, five triples, and eight homeruns. His 62 RBI this season was one shy of teammate Kendall Small's 63, which broke a program-record of RBI in a season. He led the team in stolen bases with 16 this year, while only being caught three times. He also led the team in walks with 43, while scoring 65 runs. Nevins also broke a program record with a .548 on base percentage this season and finished out the year with a .730 slugging percentage. He had a season-high five RBI, going 3-for-5 against No. 8 Franklin Pierce in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Luke Johnson (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) earned the First Team NCBWA All-East Region recognition in his first season as a Wildcat. Johnson led the team and the CACC with 13 home runs this year, while ranking second in the East Region. In 159 at bats, he had 60 hits, including eight doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs to go with 60 RBI. His 60 RBI ranked him third in the CACC following teammates Kendall Small and Eddie Nevins. He finished fourth on the team batting, .377 with a slugging percentage of .698 and an on base percentage of .450. He also stole eight bases, while being walked 20 times. He recorded a season-high four RBI three times throughout the season including against No. 3 Nyack with a double and one home run in the CACC Tournament. He also had a home run in four straight games, including two against Jefferson on April 28.
Kendall Small (Dover, Del./Dover) added to his record-breaking season as well, earning a spot on the NCBWA All-East Region Second Team. He finished his career out batting .379, while breaking the single-season record of hits with 80 this year. The senior also broke the program's record for hits in a career with 238. He led the team in doubles with 22, had one triple, and six home runs. His 22 doubles ranks him tied for seventh throughout all NCAA Division II. He also broke the program-record for RBI in a season with 63, which led the East Region, while breaking the program record of RBI in a career with 165. He stole eight bases on the year, while being walked 25 times, ranking third on the team. The first basemen had a season-high five RBI twice during the season, first against Chestnut Hill on March 29 as he went 4-for-4 with two doubles, and second against No. 1 Adelphi, going 3-for-5 with a home run in the Regional Tournament.
Dan Hyatt (Newark, Del./Conrad) earned the NCBWA All-East Region Honorable Mention for the first time in his career. He finished out the season with a 2.97 ERA, ranking him third in the CACC. He led the team and the league and was second in the Region with 10 wins and only one loss this season. In 75.2 IP, he allowed 73 hits, 25 earned runs, and 20 walks. He was second on the team in strikeouts with 80 and finished with a batting average against of .246. He also had two saves on the year. The utility player finished with a batting average of .308 with 32 hits, including four doubles, two triples, and three home runs for 21 RBI. Hyatt was walked 10 times throughout the season and was 7-8 in stolen bases. He had a season-high three RBI throughout the year including against Dominican, going 3-for-3 with a home run. The red shirt junior finished out his career at Wilmington with a .400 on base percentage and a .471 slugging percentage.
Brad Scull (Aston, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) earned the NCBWA Honorable Mention for the second consecutive year. Scull finished his career out with a career-best 1.81 ERA. In 49.2 IP, he allowed 40 hits, 10 earned runs, and nine walks, while striking out 56 batters. In his nine appearances, he went 6-0 overall with a .214 batting average against. He had a season-high 11 strikeouts, twice this year, including in the Wildcats 8-0 win over Queens, and second against Bridgeport, where he went eight innings, allowing just three hits.
The Wildcats finished out the season, going 40-18 overall, with a 22-11 CACC record, while clinching their fifth CACC title in nine years. They also reached their seventh NCAA East Regional Tournament in nine years, going 2-2.