The 2014-15 Seattle University baseball team gathered at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub Tuesday evening to celebrate the success of the past year before everyone finishes the academic year and several players head out to play summer baseball.
Junior infielder Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.) received both the Eddie O’Brien Defensive Player of the Year Award and the David C. Tripp MVP Award. Stober was the only player to start all 58 games for the Redhawks in 2015, batting .304 with a team-high 70 hits, including 11 doubles, five triples, and three home runs, plus he earned 36 runs scored and 39 runs batted in. Defensively, he helped stabilize the Seattle U infield, collecting 107 putouts and 138 assists while earning a .968 fielding percentage.
Stober’s double-play partner Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) was voted the Johnny O’Brien Offensive Player of the Year by his teammates. The sophomore finished the season with a .306 batting average, earning 66 hits, including 11 doubles, one triple, and four home runs, plus he scored 33 runs and drove in a team-high 42 runs. Andreychuk set a modern school record by reaching base safely in 29 straight games, a streak that started on April 3 against Sacramento State and will continue into next season.
Skyler Genger (Kent, Wash.) was named the John Kelly Pitcher of the Year after pitching a team-high 100 1/3 innings during the season, posting a 6-7 record with a 3.05 earned run average and two complete games. He became the first Western Athletic Conference pitcher since 2011 to collect at least 100 strikeouts, finishing with a modern single season school record of 120 strikeouts, currently eighth in the country.
The Rookie of the Year award was given to Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) after he became the Sunday starter for the Redhawks. Skubal finished the 2015 season with a 7-4 overall record, leading the Redhawk pitching staff in victories, and a 3.24 earned run average. In conference play, Skubal posted a 6-1 record with a 2.47 earned run average and 51 strikeouts in 51 innings on the mound.
The coaching staff decided to award two pitchers the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Junior Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) threw nearly three times as many innings this past season as he did in 2014, posting a 6-4 record with a team-best 2.63 earned run average and three saves. He struck out 47 batters in 61 2/3 innings and started the WAC Tournament title game against Bakersfield on May 24, allowing just one unearned run in six innings of work.
Ryan Freitas (Concord, Calif.) did not make his collegiate debut until facing Puget Sound on April 15, as the coaches worked on changing his arm slot to become a sidearm pitcher. He struck out the side against the Loggers and ended up with 12 appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 1-1 record with a 3.00 earned run average and one save. He earned his victory by pitching six innings of relief during Seattle U’s 14-9 comeback victory at Northern Colorado May 14, and he made three appearances during the WAC Tournament.
Senior catcher Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) received the Cam Christian Award for representing the Seattle U baseball program with class and selflessness. Olson finished his four-year collegiate career by starting 205 games for the Redhawks, collecting 212 hits, including 40 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs, plus he scored 102 runs and drove in 114 runs during his career. Throughout his time within the program, Olson was a quiet leader who showed his character through his actions.
After completing finals next week, several players will head to various places across North America to play summer baseball. Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) is expected to return to the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod League, and he will be joined by lefthanded pitcher Will Dennis (Saratoga, Calif.). Freitas is also expected to head across the country, playing for the Valley Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Andreychuk will return to the same team he competed with last summer, playing for the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League. Also playing within the West Coast League will be Chris Carns (Federal Way, Wash.) for the Wenatchee AppleSox, Dalton Hurd (Bend, Ore.) and Janson Junk (Federal Way, Wash.) for the Bend Elks, and Curtis Perrin (Vancouver, Wash.) and Sean Sutton (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) for the Cowlitz Black Bears.
Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) and Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.) will head to the Midwest to play for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League. Grant Gunning (Snohomish, Wash.) will play for the Healdsburg Prune Packers, an independent team in Northern California, while Jack Reisinger (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) will head to Southern California to play for the OC Bulldogs in the Orange County Collegiate League. Nick Meservey (Scottsdale, Ariz.) will head north to play for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots of the Alaska Baseball League.
Seattle University finished the 2015 season with a 31-27 overall record, the most victories in a single season in program history. The Redhawks went 19-8 within the Western Athletic Conference, finishing second in the regular season standings, and advanced to the championship game of the WAC Baseball Tournament.