Six Bulls Make All-MAC Team to Set Program Record
5/21/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BUFFALO, NY - After a record-breaking season both by individuals and the team, another program record was set Tuesday evening, as six UB baseball players were named to All-Mid-American Conference teams. Player of the Year winner Jason Kanzler made the first team along with Mike Burke, while Anthony Magovney, Tyler Mautner, River McWilliams, and Mike Scarcello made the second team.
The Bulls previously had nine All-MAC honorees in the previous 12 years as a member of the conference.
Kanzler becomes the second Bull to ever win Player of the Year honors, joining Tom Murphy in 2011. A two-time MAC East Player of the Week, Kanzler led the conference in home runs, total bases, runs batted in, and slugging percentage. He improves on last year's spot on the conference's postseason second team. He becomes the third Bull to ever earn a spot on postseason teams twice in a career, with the others being Mike Folli and Murphy.
Burke made the first team team as an at-large player, after a solid season both as the staff ace and the every-day starter at shortstop. For the season, he posted a 7-2 record with a 2.91 earned run average. As the Sunday ace, though, he had a 1.90 ERA with two shutouts and a .209 batting average allowed to opponents. At the moment, he ranks second for innings pitched, sixth in strikeouts, and second in wins for a single season, and was named the MAC East Pitcher of the Week two times. As the team's starting shortstop, he started 32 games and batted .259 with eight doubles and 21 runs batted in with his best season ever defensively at shortstop (with a .953 fielding percentage).
Fellow right-handed starter Magovney emerged as a solid starter in his second season with the team. The sophomore went 7-4 over the season, with two complete games and shutout. He struck out 59 batters in 84.2 innings pitched, making 14 starts. He was honored as the MAC East Pitcher of the Week two times.
McWilliams rounds out the trio of All-MAC pitchers for the Bulls, after a record-breaking season as the team's starter. The senior set the program's single season record in appearances (27) and saves (12). His save total is twice as many as Steve Geltz's previous record of six, set in 2008. He had a 2.92 ERA, with three wins and 52.1 innings pitcher as the team's main relief pitcher.
On offense, Mautner had one of the best freshman seasons by any UB hitter in history. He batted .300 over 52 games, with 33 runs batted in and a pair of home runs. He also hit 21 doubles, tied with his current assistant coach Brad Cochrane for the most in a single season. He was also named the MAC East Player of the Week for the final weekend of the regular season.
Scarcello has been a main-stay of the Buffalo lineup, and has helped see the team go from just 14 wins in his freshman season to 32 in 2013. As the team's every-day starter for the left side of the infield, he provided the versatility the team needed to allow Burke to move into the starting rotation. He recovered from an early season slump, and batted .318 in the 26-game MAC season. Overall, he batted .276 with eight doubles and 19 runs batted in along with 26 walks.
The Bulls face Toledo in the first round of the MAC tournament Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm. Live audio will be available at BuffaloBulls.com.
