May 13, 2002
Jim Deters Named MIAA Baseball MVP;
Seven Calvin Players Named to All-MIAA Baseball Teams
For the third consecutive year, the MIAA Most Valuable Player in baseball is
from Calvin College. A year ago, Calvin senior Aaron Wiers was named league MVP
for the second straight year. On Monday morning, Calvin freshman pitcher Jim
Deters was named the 2002 MIAA MVP. A native of Portage and a graduate of
Kalamazoo Christian High School, Deters is the fifth individual in Calvin
history to receive the award as Mickey Phelps (1970), Randy Wolthuis (1975),
John Collier (1984) and Wiers (2000 & 2001) were previously so honored. Deters
is also the third Kalamazoo Christian High School graduate to receive MIAA MVP
accolades during the 2001-2002 academic year as Calvin senior Erinn Boot was
named the 2001 MIAA MVP in women's cross country and Calvin junior Jeremy
Veenstra was named the 2002 MIAA MVP in men's basketball.
A two-time MIAA Pitcher of the Week this spring, Deters helped rewrite sections
of the MIAA record book, establishing MIAA single-season pitching records for
victories and strikeouts in a season. In league play, Deters fashioned an 8-0
won-loss record along with a 1.95 earned run average. Deters also struck out 66
batters against just three walks in 50.2 innings of work. With eight decisions
in league play, Deters also matched an MIAA single-season record for pitching
decisions. In a 6-0 victory over Kalamazoo April 20, Deters struck out 15
batters, recording the third-highest single-game strikeout total in MIAA
history. Overall, Deters is 10-1 with a 2.59 ERA along with 95 strikeouts. His
victory and strikeout totals are both Calvin single-season records. The only
loss of the year for Deters came in an 8-5 defeat at nationally-ranked Marietta
on March 23.
Deters also landed a spot on the All-MIAA 1st team and was joined on the first
team by teammates Ben Dykhouse, Darrell Heuker, Arie Eppinga and Josh Vriesman
with all five individuals receiving All-MIAA 1st team honors for the first
time.
A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School,
Dykhouse has served as Calvin's starting catcher over the last two years. A
left-handed hitter, Dykhouse finished second in the MIAA batting race with a
.415 average, collecting 22 hits in 53 trips to the plate. Overall, Dykhouse is
batting .339 with three home runs, 26 RBI's and 25 runs scored. Heuker is from
Hudsonville and is a graduate of Unity Christian High School. Heuker served as
Calvin's first baseman this year and also backed up Dykhouse at the catching
position. A right-handed hitter, Heuker finished 12th in the MIAA batting race
with a .344 average while picking up 13 RBI's and eight runs scored. Overall,
Heuker is batting batting .325 with a team-leading 33 RBI's along with 19 runs
scored.
A native of Walnut Creek, California, and a graduate of Contra Costa Christian
High School, Eppinga has served as Calvin's designated hitter this spring while
also filling in at first base and at catcher when needed. Eppinga finished
sixth in the MIAA batting race with a .387 league average while finishing tied
for fifth in RBI's with 14. Overall, Eppinga is batting .347 with 28 RBI's and
17 runs scored. Vriesman hails from Denver, Colorado and is a graduate of
Denver Christian High School. Vriesman served as Calvin's shortstop this spring
and excelled in his first year of collegiate play, finishing ninth in the MIAA
batting race with a .360 league average while also finishing tied for fourth in
runs scored (18). He also led the MIAA in stolen bases with 10 swipes, becoming
the first Calvin baseball player to lead the MIAA in the stolen base category.
In the field, Vriesman compiled a solid fielding percentage of .949 in league
games. Overall, Vriesman leads the Knights in batting average (.385), runs
scored (31) and stolen bases (14).
Calvin also landed a pair of senior pitchers on the All-MIAA 2nd team as
seniors Mike Ott and Andy Miedema were so honored. Ott is making his second
straight appearance on the All-MIAA 2nd team while Miedema is receiving
all-league honors for the first time.
A native of Grand Rapids, the right-handed Ott prepped at Grand Rapids City
High School but played his high school ball at Grand Rapids Union High School.
Ott was 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA in league games this spring, ranking eighth in the
MIAA in earned run average among MIAA pitchers with 10 or more innings of work.
Ott was also second in the league in strikeouts with 41 and received MIAA
Pitcher of the Week accolades once during the year. Ott is also among the MIAA
career leaders in earned run average, innings pitched, strikeouts and decisions.
Overall, Ott is 5-4 on the year with a 3.14 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 66 innings
of work.
Miedema is also a right-handed pitcher. He hails from Hudsonville and is a
graduate of Unity Christian High School. This spring, Miedema stepped into
Calvin's number-three spot in the starting rotation and fashioned a 4-0 record
with a 4.73 ERA in 32.3 innings pitched in league games. In conference action,
Miedema finished tied for third in the MIAA in victories pitched. Overall,
Miedema is 6-1 with a 3.86 ERA. In 51.1 innings of work, he has struck out 47
batters and walked 18.
Also receiving honorable mention recognition from the MIAA coaches are seniors
Matt Schmitz and Mike Noorman and sophomores Aaron Griffith and Terry O'Neal.
Schmitz is from Ionia and is a graduate of Ionia High School. A right-handed
pitcher, Schmitz was recently named MIAA Pitcher of the Week after a pair of
sparkling relief performances in conference victories over Hope. Overall,
Schmitz is 5-2 with a 3.77 ERA and two saves. In conference play, he was 1-0
with a 1.80 ERA and two saves, finishing tied for second in the league in saves.
Noorman is from Jenison and is a graduate of Covenant Christian High School.
Noorman stepped into Calvin's starting slot at third base midway through the
year and has compiled an impressive batting average of .351 in overall games
while also batting .351 in league games. In Calvin's three-game sweep of Hope
last week, Noorman went 5-for-10 at the plate to finish with 13 hits in 37 at
bats in conference games. Griffith is from Manhattan, Kansas, and is a graduate
of Manhattan High School. A right-fielder, Griffith batted .283 along with a
.952 fielding percentage in league games. He is batting .309 overall with 26
runs scored and 15 RBI's. O'Neal is from Muskegon and is a graduate of
Muskegon-Reeths Puffer High School. Originally an infielder, O'Neal moved into
a starting role in leftfield this spring, commiting just one error in 33 total
chances for a fielding percentage of .970. He is also hitting .326 at the plate
with 30 runs scored and 14 stolen bases from his lead-off position in the
batting order. In league games, O'Neal batted .301 with eight stolen bases in
10 attempts to rank second in the MIAA in stolen bases.
Calvin captured the 2002 MIAA title with a 16-2 league record, establishing a
new Calvin single-season record for conference victories. As a team, the
Knights batted .322 in MIAA games, collecting 182 hits in 565 trips to the
plate. Calvin's total of 182 hits is the fifth-highest single-season total by a
team in MIAA baseball history.
Calvin will carry a 28-11 record into the double-elimination Midwest Regional
Tournament in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, this week. Calvin will open the regional
tournament against Lakeland College of Wisconsin Thursday afternoon at 5:00 p.m.
(EST). Calvin's overall victory total of 28 wins is a new Calvin single-season
record. Calvin's NCAA III Tournament games will be broadcast via real audio at
www.Calvin.edu/sports/baseball/schedule.htm
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