University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Baseball Announces Team Awards
5/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Peters (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) was named the Siebert Memorial MVP for 2006. Peters finished the season with a team-high 27 appearances, which was the second-highest by a Golden Gopher pitcher in a single season. He finished the season 2-4, with a 3.38 ERA, seven saves and 48 strikeouts in 40 innings of work. Peters also limited opposition to a .268 batting average. In the Big Ten Tournament, Peters made three appearances and pitched a team-high 9.1 innings, giving up just, two runs and striking out 12 batters. Over the past two Big Ten Tournaments, he had 21 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work. His seven saves in 2006 were second in the Big Ten, while his 27 appearances ranked fourth.
Dan Lyons (Rochester, Minn.) received the Dianne Olson-Ficenko Dugout Club Player of the Year Award. Lyons finished the season with a .274 batting average, 39 runs, 11 doubles, three home runs, 30 RBI, 27 walks and 14 stolen bases in his first year with the program. He was second on the team in walks, second in stolen bases, doubles and home runs. Lyons was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team, as he batted .455 with five runs, four RBI, a home run, a triple, three doubles and had a .500 on-base percentage. He also put together a remarkable defensive season for the Golden Gophers fielding at a .952 clip from the shortstop position in his first year of Division I baseball.
Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) received the Paul Molitor Batting Champion Award for having the highest batting average on the season. Nohelty batted .361 with 34 runs, 26 RBI, 18 stolen bases and had a .439 on-base percentage in his first season with Minnesota as a redshirt freshman. He became the first freshman to lead the team in batting average since 2001 when Sam Steidl did so. Nohelty was also the first freshman since Scott Howard in 1999 to lead the Golden Gophers in Big Ten batting average and stolen bases. He was named a Third-Team All-Big Ten outfielder for Minnesota this year.
Senior Brian Bull (Omaha, Minn.) was named the Dave Winfield Pitcher of the Year. Bull finished up the season with a 7-4 record, a 3.01 ERA in 14 starts, two complete games and an opposing batting average of .256 against him. Bull was 5-1 against Big Ten opposition on the season. His last career win came when he pitched a career-high 7.2 innings, giving up eight hits and two runs in a 6-2 win over eventual Big Ten Champion Michigan in the Golden Gophers’ second game of the Big Ten Tournament. Bull was remarkable down the stretch for Minnesota going 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA in his last four starts. He also finished seventh in the Big Ten in ERA and innings pitched, along with being third in wins.
Luke MacLean (Bloomington, Minn.) won the Paul Fortin Scholarship/Athlete Award. MacLean batted .316 with 37 runs, 30 RBI and stole nine bases on the season. In his final Big Ten Tournament, he batted .429 with five runs and had a .500 on-base percentage to receive All-Tournament team honors. MacLean has been a three-time Big Ten All-Academic selection for Minnesota. He also tied a school-record for most HBP in a single season with 14 this year, and tied Jason Kennedy (1999-2002) for the career record with 36.
Sophomore Dustin Brabender (Oregon, Wis.) received the George Thomas Most Improved Player. Brabender was 6-5 with a 3.96 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 77.1 innings pitched. He was fourth in the Big Ten in opposing batting average at .229. He was 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in his final four starts of the season, including a pair of wins over Ohio State. Brabender pitched a career-high 7.1 innings in the Big Ten Tournament against the Buckeyes, giving up three runs and striking out five batters to help guide Minnesota to a 7-3 win over Ohio State in the winner’s bracket game.
One of the most prestigious honors in the program, the David Chelesnik Scholarship Award, was given to Reid Mahon (St. Paul, Minn.) The award is presented to an athlete who best demonstrates the special qualities of courage, determination and perseverance that were exhibited by David Chelesnik. The special scholarship is given in memory of an outstanding student-athlete who died of bone cancer on Labor Day, 1984, after completing one year of a lifelong dream - to play for the Golden Gophers. Mahon had his best season of his career going 2-0 with a 5.25 ERA in 12 appearances. He did so after making the difficult choice to redshirt his junior year in 2004. Mahon was one of the team leaders as a senior in this 2006 season.
Minnesota awarded the Teammate of the Year Award for the second year, given to the player whose attitude and actions most represent that team philosophy of the Golden Gophers program. Senior Tony Leseman (St. Paul, Minn.) received the honors for Minnesota. In his senior season, Leseman batted .269 with 22 runs and 16 RBI. He played left field and center field for most of the year making 44 starts and playing 50 games. However, Leseman filled in at third base for Minnesota during a stretch of the season. He also finished with 25 walks and a .412 on-base percentage. In his career, Leseman drew 60 walks in Big Ten play to finish third on the Minnesota career list.
