Outstanding individual accomplishments combined to power the Hillsdale College baseball team throughout the 2022 season.
Those individual standouts are now being duly recognized for their historic seasons as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference handed out its end-of-season baseball awards on Sunday.
Four Chargers earned all-conference recognition from the G-MAC, with two Hillsdale players receiving first team honors – shortstop Aidan Brewer and outfielder Lewis Beals, both sophomores.
Brewer had an offensive season for the ages, 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.
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.
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, also had one of the best seasons in the conference, despite missing 10 games due to injury. 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 chipped in nine doubles, three triples and eight stolen bases.
The Mason, Michigan native's 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.
Also an outstanding student, Beals became the first Charger in 22 years to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors last week and is up for Academic All-American honors later this month.
Two more Chargers made All-G-MAC teams, starting with sophomore Zane Barnhart who earned second team honors as a relief pitcher.
Hillsdale's closer in 2022, Barnhart was one of the team's most impactful pitchers, finishing with six saves, tied for fourth-most in a single season in Charger history, a team-best 2.21 ERA among pitchers with five or more appearances, and 32 strikeouts to 10 walks in 20.1 innings pitched, for a strikeout per 9 innings ratio of 14.16. The sophomore was especially effective in conference play, with 21 strikeouts to five walks and just a 0.75 ERA in nine appearances.
Barnhart's big season has him in rare air on Hillsdale's all-time saves list, as his seven career saves is tied for fifth in Charger history.
Last but not least, senior James Krick earned his third all-conference honor in his final season as a Charger, being named to the third team as a designated hitter.
Krick was lethal at the plate in a part-time role this season, hitting .368 with three doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs in just 76 plate appearances, and finishing the season with Hillsdale's second-highest on-base percentage (.455) and the team's third-highest slugging percentage (.605). Krick did a lot of his damage in conference play, hitting .394 with a .667 slugging percentage and generating all of his extra base hits and RBIs against conference foes.
The senior from Downers Grove, Illinois was only a part-time hitter because of an important role for the team coming out of the bullpen. Krick went 4-2 on the season with two saves in 13 appearances, finishing with a 3.04 ERA and 31 strikeouts to 15 walks in 23.2 innings pitched.
Krick was a first-team utility player in the G-MAC in 2018, and an honorable mention utility player in 2019. He departs Hillsdale with a spot in the record book, as his 19 career home runs are tied for 10th all-time among Chargers.
Hillsdale will miss Krick's bat and arm, but the future is bright for the Chargers, as their other three All-G-MAC players are slated to return, part of eight position player starters and four starting pitchers returning for Hillsdale in 2023.