2022 NCBWA All-Midwest Region Teams
After a stellar season, Hillsdale's Aidan Brewer and Lewis Beals continue to bring in prestigious postseason honors.
The latest national outfit to recognize both players is the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, which released their NCAA DII All-Region teams on Thursday afternoon. Founded in 1962, the NCBWA hands out awards annually to top collegiate baseball players across the country.
In the same week that he was named the first-team All-Midwest Region shortstop by the D2CCA, Brewer earned the same honor from the NCBWA, becoming the first Charger since Ethan Wiskur in 2017 to earn first team recognition from the NCBWA.
The honor comes as no surprise as Brewer had an offensive season for the ages in 2022 at Hillsdale, leading the G-MAC in the regular season in batting average (.435), on-base percentage (.500), total hits (81) and doubles (19), while also finishing third in OPS (1.226), fourth in RBIs (50), sixth in runs scored (50), seventh in slugging percentage (.726), eighth in home runs (11) and ninth in stolen bases. He also finished the regular season in the top 15 in the nation among NCAA DII players in batting average, total hits and on-base percentage as well.
The sophomore really stood out in conference play, leading the G-MAC in batting average (.468), on-base percentage (.529) and hits (58) as well while ranking in the top 10 in every relevant offensive category except for triples. That performance helped him earn first-team All-G-MAC honors as a shortstop last week.
Brewer's monster season has him in rarefied air in Hillsdale College history, ranking in the top 10 in seven single-season categories. He's third in hits (81), sixth in batting average (.435), sixth in runs scored (50), seventh in slugging percentage (.726), second in doubles (19), seventh in RBIs (50) and tied for 10th in home runs (11). His 23 career home runs are also tied for fourth all-time at Hillsdale, just one behind third place.
Beals, meanwhile, added an honorable mention All-Midwest Region honor from the NCBWA to his growing list of accolades, which includes second-team All-Midwest Region honors from the D2CCA earlier this week. The sophomore had a special season of his own, one made even more impressive by the fact that he missed 10 games, including Hillsdale's final nine contests, with injuries. Despite a shortened season, Beals made the most of the time he was on the field, racking up gaudy enough numbers to outshine most of his peers who played full schedules.
The sophomore hit .378 wih a .776 slugging percentage in 38 games, the second-highest single season slugging percentage in program history. Beals led the Chargers in home runs with 14, tied for the sixth most in a single season all time at Hillsdale, and finished second in RBIs with 44 while chipping in nine doubles, three triples and eight stolen bases.
Beals' biggest moment came in a series against McKendree on March 4 and 5. In a 12-7 win over the Bearcats on March 4, Beals accomplished an extremely rare feat by hitting for the cycle, finishing with a single, a double, a triple and a home run in the same contest. It was part of a weekend where Beals went 11 of 17 at the plate with two doubles, a triple, five home runs and 10 RBIs, and became the first Charger baseball player in at least a decade to receive NCBWA National Player of the Week honors. An impressive student off the field as well, Beals not only earned first team All-G-MAC honors as an outfielder, but also became the first Charger baseball player in over two decades to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as well.