TOWSON, Md. --- The Moravian College baseball team has had six played named to the 2016 Landmark All-Conference Teams with four First Team selections and a pair of Second Team honorees, and freshman outfielder Mike Mittl has been named the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year.
The Greyhounds' First Team honorees are senior third baseman Alex Bull, senior first baseman Charles Savite, sophomore pitcher Ryan Kahn and freshman pitcher Rhett Jacoby while Mittl and junior outfielder Anthony Gaetaniello made the Second Team.
The Greyhounds, under the direction of 10th–year Head Coach Paul Engelhardt, posted a 22-21 record in 2016 while earning the program's eighth straight trip to the Landmark Conference Tournament. Moravian was the second seed again this season and hosted Elizabethtown College in a best-of-three semifinal series at Gillespie Field on May 8-9, falling 2-1 to end the year.
Mittl played in 40 games and started 37 in his debut season with the Hounds. He hit .323 with 50 hits, 33 runs, seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 24 RBIs. Mittl added 13 stolen bases, seven walks and six sacrifices to go with a .477 slugging percentage and a .354 on-base percentage.
"Mike is very deserving of this award," commented Engelhardt. "There was a lot of young talent in the conference this year and even within our own squad that makes this special. Winning the award speaks highly of the season that Mike had this spring, and we are looking forward to the next three years and having Mike become a leader for our program."
Bull led the Greyhounds with a .402 average this season. He reached base safely in the first 42 games of the year including hitting streaks of 17 games to start the season and another 21-game streak. Bull had 66 hits on the year, one shy of the school record, and he added team highs of 42 runs and 14 doubles to go with three home runs, 33 RBIs, 18 walks, six sacrificed and seven stolen bases. Bull had 78 assists in the field to finish his career tenth in school history with 206 assists, and he also had 134 career hits which is tied for 12th in school history.
"Alex had the best year of his career this spring and was very consistent at the plate all season," Engelhardt said. "He has been an outstanding teammate and it was nice to see everything finally come together during his senior year. Alex has represented the team and the College the right away throughout his career and is very deserving of All-Conference honors for his season."
Savite, who was named to the Landmark All-Conference First Team in 2014 and the Second Team last season, hit .342 this spring with 51 hits, 31 runs, 13 doubles, a triple, five home runs, a team high 37 RBIs, 14 walks and six stolen bases. Savite also had a team leading 323 putouts to finish his career with a school record 1,354 putouts, and he also holds school records for games played at 165 and at-bats with 626. Savite, who was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team in 2014, completed his career second in RBIs with 157, second in total bases with 284, third in hits with 206, third in doubles with 43 and tied for sixth in runs with 118.
"This is a very rewarding end to Charles' career which has him at the top of most of the offensive categories in our record book," stated Engelhardt. He's been an All-Region player and made the All-Conference team for a third straight year. He had a great senior season and was able to help our younger players adapt to the college game."
Kahn finished the season with a 4-3 record on the mound, winning his last four starts, and he led the squad with a 1.42 ERA. Kahn had three complete games and a pair of shutouts to give him four for his career, and he added 46 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 50.2 innings of action this spring.
"Ryan came off of some arm issues at the beginning in the season that didn't allow us to use him that much early," noted Engelhardt. "Once he was ready, he showed he can be a front line pitcher both in conference and out of conference for us. He'll throw a lot of innings over the next two years, and we look forward to his continued improvement."
Jacoby had a 7-3 mark with a save in his debut season at Moravian. He led the team with 66.2 innings pitched and 58 strikeouts while allowing just 12 walks. He posted a 4.05 ERA and led the squad as well as the Landmark Conference with six complete games.
"As a freshman, Rhett threw the most innings and had a good season," Engelhardt explained. "He showed some moments of greatness this spring and also some moments that will drive him to become a better pitcher in the future. We are thrilled to have Rhett on the mound for three more years."
Gaetaniello hit .370 this spring with 54 hits to go with 29 runs scored, eight doubles, four triples, a homer, 25 RBIs, 13 walks, eight sacrifices and a team-leading 20 stolen bases. Gaetaniello joined Moravian's 100-hit club this year and is 11th all-time with 145 hits heading into his senior season, and Gaetaniello is tied for second in the record books with 50 career stolen bases and just four runs away from becoming the 11th player in school history to score 100 runs.
"Anthony was having an awesome year building on his first two seasons until an injury caused him to miss some games," Engelhardt said. "He just wasn't able to get back to his everyday level but is very deserving of being an All-Conference player. Anthony will be one of our team leaders next season as he moves into his final year with the program."