Welch headlines four All-PAC selections
Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director
GREENVILLE, Pa. (May 15) - Senior outfielder Kelaen Welch (Follansbee, W.Va./Brooke) was named First-Team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), as four members of the Bethany College baseball team were named to All-PAC teams announced the league office Tuesday afternoon.
Welch was the lone selection to the first team, while sophomore pitcher Isaac Wengert (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) was named a second-team selection and senior second baseman Ryan Nickerson was tabbed an honorable mention. Senior catcher Matt Cavanaugh (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) was also announced as a member of the PAC Sportsmanship Team.
Welch led the team with a .346 batting average, 31 runs scored, 46 hits, nine doubles and 11 extra-base hits. He also led the PAC with 22 stolen bases on 23 attempts and ranked in a tie for third on the team with 18 RBI.
Wengert led the team and ranked in a tie for fourth in the PAC with five wins this season. Among eligible pitchers, he had the lowest ERA on the team at 4.47 and ranked second on the staff with 30 strikeouts. Wengert, who served primary out of the bullpen as a freshman, tossed a team-high 54.1 innings with four complete games in nine starts this season.
Nickerson, who was also a 2017 Honorable Mention Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) selection, hit .291 this season with 15 RBI and 19 runs scored. He also drew a team-high 17 walks and led the team with a .398 on-base percentage, while finishing second in both doubles (8) and extra-base hits (9). He is a lifetime-.309 hitter and concluded his career at Bethany by delivering a walk-off RBI-single in the team's 4-3 win in the season-finale this past Tuesday versus Penn State Behrend.
Cavanagh was the team's primary backstop all season and enjoyed a career-year. He batted .276 with four RBI and seven runs scored in 28 games played.