Baseball Major Award, All-Landmark Honorees Announced
TOWSON, Md. – The seven Landmark baseball coaches voted and chose The University of Scranton's Connor Harding as the 2019 Baseball Player of the Year. Catholic University's Jon Mierzwa earned Pitcher of the Year honors while Susquehanna University's Ryan Monroy picked up Rookie of the Year honors. Susquehanna Head Coach Denny Bowers and his staff received Coach of the Year accolades.
Harding is the just the second Royal to Earn Landmark Player of the Year honors, joining Chris Bligh, who earned the recognition in 2010. Harding led the conference, hitting .464 during the season to go along with 34 RBI, three homeruns, eight doubles, nine triples, and 14 stolen bases. He hit .507 in conference games and helped Scranton to another Landmark championship appearance over the weekend. Harding hit safely in 34 of 39 games plays this season, having multiple hits in 22 of those games. In the postseason, Harding went 4-for-7 with a run scored. On May 7, he etched his name into Scranton baseball program's record book with two hits to break the program record for most hits in a season (66)
Mierzwa was a model of consistency for the Cardinals this season as the hurler posted an earned run average of 2.04. He finished the season with a perfect 7-0 record in 66.2 inning pitched, with 72 punchouts. In conference games, the senior went 4-0 with 39 strikeouts. On Saturday, the senior left his mark in Landmark history. With five strikeouts in the 1-0 loss to Moravian, Mierzwa became the all-time leader in Landmark Conference history with 286 career strikeouts. He broke Moravian's Brendan Close's career record of 285 set back in 2012. He is also the first Cardinal to be awarded Landmark Pitcher of the Year.
Monroy, a freshman starting pitcher, pitched in 58.0 innings this year with an ERA of 3.41. He totaled 53 strikeouts and went 5-1. In conference action, he led the league in innings pitched (44.0), finished 5-0 with two complete games, and totaled 37 strikeouts.
Bowers and his staff earned their third Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The River Hawks claimed their third Landmark title on Sunday.
Six of the 13 First Team selections are repeat honorees. Mierzwa, Moravian's Evan Kulig, and Drew's Zach Lipshitz have earned the First Team honor for the third time in their career.
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| Player of the Year |
Pitcher of the Year |
Rookie of the Year |
Coach of the Year |
Connor Harding
Scranton |
Jon Mierzwa
Catholic |
Ryan Monroy
Susquehanna |
Denny Bowers
Susquehanna |
The 2019 Landmark Baseball All-Conference Teams:
| First Team |
|
Second Team |
| SP |
Jon Mierzwa ^* |
Catholic |
Sr. |
Laurel, Md. |
|
SP |
Ross Dean |
Catholic |
Jr. |
East Greenwich, R.I. |
| SP |
Jeff Serin |
Drew |
Jr. |
Hillsborough, N.J. |
|
SP |
Pete Violante |
Drew |
Jr. |
Easton, Pa. |
| SP |
Evan Kulig |
Moravian |
Sr. |
Allentown, Pa. |
|
SP |
Ryan Monroy |
Susquehanna |
Fr. |
Berkely Heights, N.J. |
| RP |
Bobby Grigas * |
Susquehanna |
Jr. |
Frackville, Pa. |
|
RP |
Tyler Caraway |
Moravian |
Sr. |
Riegelsville, Pa. |
| C |
Peter Yarem |
Susquehanna |
So. |
Scotch Plains, N.J. |
|
C |
Anthony Knight ^ |
Elizabethtown |
Sr. |
Lancaster, Pa. |
| 1B |
Evan Kulig ^* |
Moravian |
Sr. |
Allentown, Pa. |
|
1B |
Nolan Lundholm |
Catholic |
Jr. |
Missouri City, Texas |
| 2B |
Ian Csencsits ^ |
Moravian |
Jr. |
Northampton, Pa. |
|
2B |
Anthony Dombrowski |
Susquehanna |
Jr. |
Pompton Plains, N.J. |
| 3B |
Tim Heard |
Moravian |
Sr. |
Lebanon, N.J. |
|
3B |
Robbie Bertucio |
Elizabethtown |
Fr. |
York, Pa. |
| SS |
Zach Lipshitz ^* |
Drew |
Sr. |
Scotch Plains, N.J. |
|
SS |
Michael Miceli |
Moravian |
So. |
Branchburg, N.J. |
| OF |
Derek Manning ^ |
Elizabethtown |
Jr. |
East Petersburg, Pa. |
|
OF |
Bailey Lewis |
Catholic |
Sr. |
Matthews, N.C |
| OF |
Connor Harding |
Scranton |
So. |
Vestal, N.Y. |
|
OF |
Max Felsenstein |
Drew |
Jr. |
Glen Rock, N.J. |
| OF |
Steve Lorenz |
Susquehanna |
So. |
Feasterville-Trevose, Pa. |
|
OF |
Mike Mittl |
Moravian |
Sr. |
Bethlehem, Pa. |
| DH |
Alex Burman |
Susquehanna |
Jr. |
Wallingford, Pa. |
|
DH |
Adam Kipp |
Juniata |
Jr. |
Mt. Wolf, Pa. |
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^ 2018 First Team All-Landmark
* 2017 First Team All-Landmark
$ 2016 First Team All-Landmark