Six Salukis earn All-MVC honors

MVC Release

ST. LOUIS - Six Southern Illinois baseball players earned All-Conference honors, the Missouri Valley Conference announced on Tuesday. Michael Baird was a first-team selection; Logan Blackfan was a second-team honoree; and Brad Harrison, Connor Kopach, Ryan Netemeyer, and Nikola Vasic earned honorable-mention All-MVC.

Michael Baird was arguably the best pitcher in the MVC in 2018. He was the only pitcher to rank in the top-two in the league in innings pitched, ERA and strikeouts. In MVC play, Baird went 4-2 with a 2.40 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 48.2 innings. He limited opponents to a .219 average in MVC play. On the season, Baird led the MVC in strikeout-to-walk ratio, with 89 strikeouts against only 19 walks. He earned first-team All-MVC for the second time, having also earned the honor in 2016.

Logan Blackfan earned All-MVC honors for the second time in his career. Blackfan was second in the MVC in RBIs with 59. He also ranked among the MVC leaders in batting average (11th), slugging (9th), hits (5th), doubles (11th) and home runs (4th). He set SIU's career doubles record and ranks in the top-10 in school history in career RBIs (4th), walks (8th), total bases (9th), games played (7th) and at-bats (9th).

Brad Harrison earned All-MVC for the first time in his career. The two-way player earned honorable mention honors as a starting pitcher. He was a three-time MVC Pitcher of the Week and pitched three shutouts (one complete game and two combined). He ranked third in the MVC in strikeouts with 71 and had three games with at least 11 strikeouts.

Connor Kopach earned All-MVC honors for the third time in his career. The Saluki shortstop led the MVC and ranks 11th nationally with 31 stolen bases. In the MVC, he also ranks 13th in batting average, fifth in runs, sixth in hits, 12th in doubles, seventh in total bases, 11th in walks, fourth in sac flies, and second in triples. In SIU history, Kopach ranks second in career steals, fifth in triples, 11th in total bases, 10th in doubles, fourth in games and fifth in at-bats.

Ryan Netemeyer also earned All-MVC honors for the third-straight season. Netemeyer is SIU's all-time saves leader, and his 37 career saves rank second in MVC history. This year, Netemeyer's nine saves lead the MVC and rank seventh in SIU single-season history. Netemeyer holds three of the top seven saves seasons in school history. His 15 saves last season are a school record. Netemeyer also ranks fourth in SIU history in career appearances.

Nikola Vasic earned honorable mention All-MVC honors as a second baseman. He hit .282 during the regular season with seven doubles, four triples and two home runs with 26 RBIs. He reached in 51 of the final 53 games of the season and drew 36 walks to post a .402 on-base percentage. He tied Kopach for the team lead with 44 runs scored, which ranks fifth in the MVC. His four triples rank second in the league, and his 18 stolen bases rank fifth.

All-conference honors and specialty awards are voted on by the league's eight head baseball coaches.

Southern Illinois opens the 2018 MVC Tournament at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning against Indiana State.

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Players Mentioned

Michael Baird

Logan Blackfan

Brad Harrison

Connor Kopach

Ryan Netemeyer

Nikola Vasic

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Southern Illinoise University Athletics