Woods, Gross headline five All-PAC selections
Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director
GREENVILLE, Pa. (May 16) – Sophomore Neil Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) headlined a group of five Bison who were named to the All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) baseball teams announced the league office Tuesday afternoon.
Woods was named a first-team utility player after a stellar year as the starting first baseman and primary closer for the Bethany College baseball team. Sophomore pitcher Nick Gross (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) was named to the second team, while senior shortstop Zack Miller (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin), senior catcher Alex Martin (Sound Beach, N.Y./Miller Place), junior second baseman Ryan Nickerson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) were all named All-PAC Honorable Mention.
Woods was named All-PAC First Team utility player after helping the Bison at the plate and on the mound. He ranked fourth on the team with a .315 batting average, including a team-best 41 hits, third on the squad with 19 RBI and second with 19 runs scored, while starting all 37 games. Woods also served as the team's closer and ranked second in the PAC with seven saves to along with a 1.13 ERA over 16 innings of work. He ended the year 3-0 on the bump, leading the team in wins in the process.
Gross was named an All-PAC Second Team honoree after ranking third in the PAC with a 2.54 ERA in 67.1 innings of work over 11 starts. He held opponents to a .241 batting average, good for fifth in the league, and finished the year with a 2-3 record. His best performance of the season came on April 5, when he held Grove City, a PAC Tournament finalist, scoreless over seven innings with four strikeouts, before the bullpen helped secure a 1-0 win. The victory was Gross's first-career collegiate win on the mound.
Miller earned his second all-conference distinction after being named a second-team selection last year. He ranked second on the team with a .324 batting average and delivered a team-high 21 RBI and .414 slugging percentage this season. Miller also tied for the team lead with eight extra-base hits and ended the year with a .927 fielding percentage, while starting 35 of the team's 37 games at shortstop.
Martin posted a team-best .367 batting average with 22 hits in 60 at-bats, while managing the pitching staff as the team's primary backstop. He ended the year with only four strikeouts in 65 plate appearances and tied for fifth on the squad with 12 RBI. Defensively, Martin finished with a .988 fielding percentage and threw out 43 percent of runners attempting to steal.
Nickerson collected his first all-conference award after ranking second on the team with a .336 batting average, tied for the team lead with 41 hits and posted a .393 on-base percentage. He also ranked second on the Bison with 20 RBI this season and was tied for third on the team with 17 runs scored. and ended the season with a .968 fielding percentage, while starting all 37 games at second base. Nickerson, who was recently named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District team, led the team with 14 two-out RBI this year.
The Bison recently wrapped up the season at 14-22-1 overall, including an 8-14 mark in against PAC foes. The 14 wins was the most in a single-season since the team won 19 in 2014.