11 Raiders named to Preseason All-Horizon League baseball teams

Schum (Bright, IN/East Central) went 9-2 in 2011 with nine saves, a 1.37 earned run average and 41 strikeouts last season.

11 members of the Wright State baseball team have been named to the Preseason All-Horizon League teams as selected by collegesportsmadness.com.  The Raiders also swept the individual awards as senior infielder Jake Hibberd was chosen as the Field Player of the Year, senior Michael Schum as the Pitcher of the Year, outfielder Ryan McPike as the Freshman of the Year and Rob Cooper as the Coach of the Year.

Named to the First Team were Schum, Hibberd, senior catcher Corey Davis, senior infielder Zach Tanner, junior infielder Justin Kopale and senior outfielders Ryan Ashe and Tristan Moore.  Selected to the Second Team were senior pitcher Jordan Marker and junior infielder Sam Picchiotti.

Schum (Bright, IN/East Central) was the Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-League selection in 2011. He finished 13th in Division I in walks allowed per nine innings (1.02), 47th in victories with nine and 58th in saves with nine while striking out 41 in 53 innings.

Schum was also named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team as he did not allow a run in two appearances, earning the save in the winner’s bracket final against Valparaiso and picking up the win in the championship game versus the Crusaders.

Hibberd (Miamisburg, OH/Miamisburg) had a monster season for WSU in 2011 as he was selected as the Horizon League Player of the Year and was a First Team All-League honoree.  He led the league in all three Triple Crown categories (.407 batting average, nine home runs, 56 RBI) and appeared in the Division I rankings in each of those categories (14th in average, 133rd in home runs and 71st in RBI).

Hibberd also was ranked nationally in hits (10th with 96), doubles (44th with 21), slugging percentage (64th at .610), total bases (30th with 144) and on-base percentage (147th at .445).

Davis (Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas) had quite a first year for the Raiders after transferring from Mount Hood Community College. Named First Team All-League, Davis was also selected as the Newcomer of the Year as he was one behind Hibberd in the home run race with eight, ranked fifth in the league in slugging percentage (.540) and RBI (4) and was tied for eighth in doubles (15). Davis was later named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team after hitting .444 in three games with three RBI and three runs scored.

Tanner (Muncie, IN/Yorktown), another First Team All-League honoree in 2011 as well as part of the All-Newcomer Team, finished third in the league in hitting (.374) in his first year for the Raiders after transferring from Lincoln Trail Community College. He was also tied for third in hits (80) and total bases (118), fourth in slugging percentage (.551), seventh in runs scored (45) and tied for seventh in home runs (5).  Tanner was also the 2011 Horizon League Tournament MVP after hitting .538 with two doubles, a triple, four RBI and four runs scored in three games.

Kopale (Oak Forest, IL/St. Rita) also was a First Team All-League selection last season as he hit .321 with 21 runs scored and had a .392 on-base percentage. Kopale recorded 14 multi-hit games on the season, including three hits against Oakland, Le Moyne and UIC, and drove in three at Elon and Le Moyne.  He also was an All-Tournament Team honoree as he hit .500 in three games and delivered a game-tying home run in the championship contest against Valparaiso.

Ashe (Huber Heights, OH/Wayne) hit .301 in 2011 with 32 RBI, 40 runs scored and a .403 on-base percentage.  He tied for the team lead in stolen bases with nine and was third with 25 walks.

Moore (New Albany, OH/New Albany) received First Team All-League honors last season as he came on strong the final two months of the season, leading the league in triples with six and was third in slugging percentage at .562. Moore also ranked in the conference’s top 10 in runs scored, RBI, total bases, on-base percentage, batting average, hits, doubles, home runs and walks.

Moore’s numbers in league play were even more impressive as he led the circuit with a .464 average, a .680 slugging percentage, a .514 on-base percentage, 45 hits, 10 doubles, four triples and 66 total bases. He also tied for second in RBI with 25.  He also was a part of the All-Tournament Team after hittting .417 with three RBI.

Marker (Greenville, OH/Greenville), one of the top left-handed relievers in the league, was third in the league with a 2.31 ERA last season and was also third in opponent batting average at .228.

Picchiotti (Oak Park, IL/River Forest) hit .308 and was one of six Raiders to reach double figures in doubles with 13.  He also scored 37 times and stole five bases.

McPike (Avon, IN/Avon) hit .458 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI as a senior as he was named All-State 4A as well as all-region, all-district and all-league.

Cooper, who enters his eighth season at the helm of the Raiders in 2012, has guided his teams to six straight 30+ win seasons, has guided WSU to five appearances in the Horizon League Championship game and has led Wright State to three NCAA Regional berths.

Wright State, who posted a 36-19 overall record in 2011 and won the Horizon League regular-season title with a mark of 16-7, ranked second nationally in batting average (.323), 16th in slugging percentage (.457), 32nd in triples (20), 34th in scoring (6.8 runs per game) and 37th in hits (622).  The Raiders open the 2012 campaign with four games February 17-19, taking on Monmouth, Bryant and Canisius at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, North Carolina along with a matchup at North Carolina State.

The following are the Collegesportsmadness.com Preseason All-Horizon League teams:

First Team

Second Team

Field Player of the Year: Jake Hibberd, Sr., IF, Wright State
Pitcher of the Year: Michael Schum, Sr., Wright State
Freshman of the Year: Ryan McPike, OF, Wright State
Coach of the Year: Rob Cooper, Wright State