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May 8, 2008
IUP starting pitcher Colby Betz was named to the All-PSAC West first team while shortstop Paul Bingham, catcher T.J. Nichols and relief pitcher Corey Betz were chosen to the second team in voting by the conference head coaches. All four Crimson Hawk selections are sophomores. Colby Betz (Dillsburg/Northern York) won all seven of his regular season decisions, including all five starts in PSAC West play. He then worked five perfect innings before taking a 4-3 loss to Kutztown in the opening round of the PSAC tournament. For the season, Betz had five complete games, including a shutout, and allowed only 56 hits and 20 earned runs in 61 1-3 innings. Betz led the team and ranks fourth among PSAC West pitchers with an ERA of 2.93. He struck out 56 batters against only 12 walks, and his average of 1.76 walks per nine innings is the 42nd best mark in the country. Opponents batted just .239 against him, the eighth lowest figure in the conference. Betz threw four complete games against PSAC West foes, including a five-hitter with a season-high 12 strikeouts in an 18-2 win over California over the final weekend of the regular season to help the Crimson Hawks clinch a berth in the conference playoffs for the first time in 10 years. He opened the season with a two-hit shutout against Virginia State. Bingham (Hanover/South Western) is on the all-conference team for the second time in as many seasons at IUP. He was over the .400 mark for most of the year before finishing at .392 with 10 doubles, seven triples, 51 runs scored and 49 RBIs while also stealing 20 bases in 25 attempts. He led the team in hits with 69, walks with 27 and stolen bases. In addition to tying Jamie Smith for the team lead in triples, Bingham ranks 11th in the nation in total triples and 24th in three-base hits per game at 0.14. He is ninth in the PSAC in batting and on-base percentage (.478), second in stolen bases, fourth in RBIs, sixth in walks and seventh in runs scored and hits. Bingham had 22 multiple hit games, one shy of the most on the Crimson Hawks, and enjoyed a team-best 15-game hitting streak during the course of the season. He had a four-hit game against nationally-ranked Catawba and also added four hits and four runs scored in a win over Slippery Rock. Bingham had three hits, scored four runs and drove in five in a victory over Gannon. Nichols (Sykesville/DuBois) was named to the all-conference team as a utility player after seeing action behind the plate, in the outfield and as the designated hitter at various times during the season. He led IUP and ranks seventh in the PSAC with a batting average of .406 with five doubles, a triple, four home runs, 42 runs scored and 34 RBIs. He also stole nine bases in only 10 attempts. Nichols had four four-hit games among his 17 multiple hit performances, including a 4-for-5 game against Seton Hill in which he had two doubles, a home run, scored three times and drove in four. He also knocked in four runs in games against Fairmont State and Slippery Rock and scored five times in an early season win over Virginia State. In the playoff clinching series against California, Nichols went 7-for-13 with a triple, a home run, three runs scored and three RBIs. Corey Betz (Dillsburg/Northern York) was used as IUP's primary closer this season and responded with five saves, the most by any PSAC West pitcher and second in the conference overall. He also had three wins in relief to account for seven Crimson Hawk victories among his 15 appearances. Betz had an ERA of 3.60 and allowed 10 earned runs while striking out 13 in 25 innings. Betz had one of his top performances on the final day of the regular season. Following a two-hour rain delay at California, he came in and pitched the final 5 2-3 innings, blanking the Vulcans until the seventh in a 9-3 IUP win that helped wrap up a berth in the PSAC playoffs. He also had saves against PSAC West opponents Shippensburg and Slippery Rock and picked up a win with 3 2-3 innings of two-hit shutout relief against Clarion. |
