Oltmans, Forrest Lead Way on All-GPAC Baseball Honors
Doane Baseball placed 13 players on the 2023 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) All-Conference list after claiming the regular season and postseason championships this year.
The Tigers placed six on the First Team, one on the Second Team, and six on the honorable mention list. Additionally, Doane brought home the Pitcher of the Year, Coach of the Year, and four Gold Glove award winners.
Head Coach Josh Oltmans was named the GPAC Coach of the Year for the third time. He has guided the Tigers to a 42-10 overall record entering the NAIA National Opening Round Tournament which begins on May 15 with brackets being announced on Thursday afternoon.
Aaron Forrest was tabbed the GPAC Pitcher of the Year a day after throwing 8.2 shutout innings to pick up a win in the GPAC Tournament Championship game against No. 24 Concordia. He picked up his 10th win of the season, setting a new school record. On the season, Forrest is 10-2 with four complete games in 82.0 innings of work. He has struck out 77 batters and allowed 60 hits, posting a 2.63 earned run average.
The pitching staff was well represented on the First Team with starter Kaden Crawford and reliever Jake Johnson also selected. Crawford holds an 8-3 record with two complete games in 72.2 innings of work. He has struck out 60 batters and has posted a 2.97 earned run average. Johnson has a 5-0 record with two saves out of the bullpen for the Tigers. He notched 28 strikeouts in 36.0 innings of work so far this season, posting a 2.00 earned run average.
Lukas White received First Team honors at first base this year. He has a .425 batting average with 20 doubles, 15 home runs and 64 RBI. Joe Osborn and Nate Mensik garnered two of the outfield positions on the First Team. Osborn is batting .328 with 18 doubles, 14 home runs, and 46 RBI. He leads the team with 56 runs scored. Mensik has a .373 batting average with 14 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs and 42 RBI. He has a team-high 15 stolen bases.
Receiving Second Team All-GPAC honors was Logan Amick. He has a .406 batting average with eight doubles and one triple this year. He has scored 33 runs, driven in 19, and is 7-for-7 in stolen bases.
Receiving honorable mention All-GPAC honors were Justin Nevells, Luke LaChance, Brett Meyer, Jack Tillman, Julian Vargas, and Kyler Beekman. Nevells is hitting .311 with nine doubles, four triples, and four home runs. LaChance has a .299 average with 13 doubles and three home runs. He had the game-winning RBI on Tuesday to move his total to 40 RBI on the season. Meyer is batting .290 with 10 doubles and two home runs, having split time between shortstop and center field.
Tillman has a .340 batting average with five doubles and one home run. Vargas has a 5-2 record in 11 starts, covering 52.1 innings. He has 60 strikeouts, an average of 10.32 per nine innings. Beekman is 5-1 on the season with five saves. In 38.0 innings of work, he has a 3.32 earned run average and 34 strikeouts.
Four players were recognized for their work defensively, receiving the GPAC Gold Glove honor. White received the nod at first base where he has a 1.000 fielding percentage in 356 chances. Nevells was recognized at third base as he posted a .938 fielding percentage in 130 opportunities. Osborn was honored for the second straight year in left field with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 65 chances. Mensik received his third Gold Glove in right field, posting a .979 fielding percentage in 94 chances, having four outfield assists.