School-tying best five baseball players named to Academic All-MAC Team

July 27, 2012 | News, UToday
By Brian DeBenedictis



Toledo tied a program best with five baseball players being named to the 2012 Academic All-MAC Team, as voted by faculty athletic representatives at the Mid-American Conference institutions.

The Rockets, who also had five honorees in 2007, tied Eastern Michigan for the most academic recipients and are represented by senior Joe Corfman, junior Ben Hammer, junior Matt Delewski, sophomore James Miglin and sophomore Ryan Wilkinson.

Corfman

Corfman becomes only the second player in school history to earn academic all-league accolades on three occasions, joining former Rocket Rich Molnar (1980-83). Hammer and Delewski are two-time selections, while Miglin and Wilkinson are first-time recipients.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.

A total of 21 student-athletes were named to this year’s squad. The number of honorees on the MAC All-Academic Team is set for the specific sport or 33 percent of the number of nominees, whichever is greater. The remaining student-athletes have been recognized as Academic Honor Roll selections.

A marketing and finance major with a 3.753 GPA, Corfman led the 2012 MAC West Division Champions in six offensive categories this spring — hits (78), runs scored (52), doubles (16), total bases (102), stolen bases (22) and hit by pitches (11). The first-team All-MAC honoree ranked third in the league in thefts, tied for fifth in runs scored, tied for seventh in hits, and tied for 10th in two-base hits. One of two Rockets to start every game (52 at second base, five at third base), he hit safely in a team-high 43 contests, including a squad-best 24 multi-hit efforts. Corfman also reached base in 52 of the 57 games and finished a close second on the squad in batting average (.333).

Corfman collected 261 hits in his time donning the Midnight Blue and Gold, surpassing former teammate Chris Dudics (254, 2008-11) for the top spot in school history. The Richfield, Ohio, native also wrapped up his illustrious career first in UT annals in doubles (54), second in runs scored (177) and total bases (375), tied for fifth in RBI (134) and 10th in batting average (.329, 261 for 794). In the Toledo single-season record book, Corfman ranks second in runs scored (69, 2010), tied for second in doubles (20, 2010) and RBI (61, 2010), third in hits (88, 2010), fifth in total bases (131, 2010), tied for sixth in doubles (16, 2012), seventh in hits (78, 2012) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (22, 2012). Academically, Corfman has been a member of UT’s dean’s list each of the last eight semesters.

An exercise science major with a 3.875 GPA, Hammer batted .257 (58 for 226) with 23 runs scored, eight doubles, two home runs, a team-high 34 RBI and nine stolen bases. The Wayne, Ohio, native started all 57 games in center field and hit safely in 38 contests, including 14 multi-hit and six multi-RBI efforts. Hammer finished first on the squad in sacrifice flies (5), tied for first in games started and sacrifice bunts (8), second in hits and walks (23), tied for second in multi-hit efforts, third in thefts, tied for fourth in multi-RBI games (6), and fifth in runs scored and total bases (72). The two-time first-team Academic All-District recipient has been a member of UT’s dean’s list the last seven semesters, including a perfect 4.0 GPA in six grade periods.

An exercise science major with a 3.449 GPA, Delewski hit a sizzling .340 (34 for 100) with 12 runs scored, a team-high nine doubles and 17 RBI in MAC play this spring, en route to earning second-team all-league recognition. He finished tied for fifth in two-base hits in conference games.

Overall this spring, Delewski batted .306 (53 for 173) with 16 runs scored, 11 doubles and 20 RBI. The Maple Heights, Ohio, native started 44 of 51 games (42 at designated hitter, two at first base) and hit safely in 37 contests, including 13 multi-hit and four multi-RBI efforts. The 2010 first-team All-MAC honoree finished third on the squad in batting average, tied for third in doubles and sacrifice bunts (7), and fifth in hits, on-base percentage (.349) and multi-hit efforts. Academically, Delewski has been a member of UT’s dean’s list the last four semesters.

An exercise science major with a concentration in pre-physical therapy and a 3.899 GPA, Miglin hit .274 (54 for 197) with 29 runs scored, seven doubles, five home runs and 33 RBI this spring. The 2012 first-team Academic All-District recipient started 52 of 53 games (47 at catcher, five at designated hitter) and hit safely in 36 contests, including 14 multi-hit and seven multi-RBI efforts. Defensively, Miglin threw out 19 of 54 (.352) potential base stealers. Academically, Miglin has been a member of UT’s dean’s list the last four semesters, including a perfect 4.0 GPA in spring 2011.

A civil engineering major with a 3.855 GPA, Wilkinson was outstanding as the Friday starter the last eight weeks of the 2012 campaign. He compiled a 5-2 ledger with a 2.50 ERA in MAC games, giving up 14 earned runs (23 runs total) on 53 hits with 36 strikeouts in 50.1 innings of work. The 2012 second-team All-MAC recipient finished tied for fourth in wins and shutouts (1), ninth in ERA, and tied for ninth in complete games (1) in league play.

Overall this spring, Wilkinson sported a 7-4 mark with a 2.99 ERA and one save. He has accumulated 78.1 innings of work, surrendering 37 runs (26 earned) on 86 hits with 50 strikeouts. He worked at least 6.0 frames in five of his 11 starts and finished tied for fourth in the MAC in wins, tied for fifth in shutouts (1) and sixth in ERA.

The second-year letter winner sits third in UT annals in career fewest walks per inning (.243, minimum 100.0 frames), fifth in ERA (2.70, minimum 100.0 frames) and eighth in win percentage (.688, 11-5). He also is tied for fourth in school history in total appearances (25, 2011) in the single-season record book. Academically, Wilkinson has been a member of UT’s dean’s list the last four semesters.

This quintet played a key role in helping Toledo claim its first MAC West Division title in school history in 2012. The Rockets’ 19-8 (.704) MAC record equaled their best mark since the conference went to three-game series prior to the 2004 campaign. Overall this spring, UT sported a 30-27 mark, registering its second 30-win season under Head Coach Cory Mee. Toledo also secured a spot in the MAC Tournament for a school-record fourth-consecutive season.

Click to access the login or register cheese