Brandywine Places Five On All-PSUAC Baseball Teams
MEDIA, Pa. -- Five Penn State Brandywine baseball student-athletes earned All-Penn State University Athletic Conference honors as Cam Baughman (Oxford, Pa./Oxford), Sam Benvignati (Aston, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), Owen Lawton (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown East) and Connor Thompson (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) were all named to the First Team, while Ryan Snyder (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) received honorable mention laurels on Friday.
Baughman earned the second First Team All-PSUAC award of his career after hitting a team-high .430 in 36 games this spring. The sixth-leading hitter in the PSUAC, Baughman topped all PSUAC hitters as 27 of his 49 hits have gone for extra bases. He owns a conference-best eight triples and also ranks in the top three in doubles (13) and home runs (6).
Baughman is one of the Lions' top run producers as he has crossed home 36 times and driven in 34 runs, good for second on the team. He also stole nine bases in 11 attempts.
In 20 conference games, Baughman hit at a .476 clip, totaling 21 RBI and 22 runs scored. He hit safely in 17 of those 20 contests.
In addition, Baughman received the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award. Named after former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, the sportsmanship award is given to one player from each team in the league who best displays the core values of the league and sportsmanship to teammates and opponents throughout the season.
Benvignati enjoyed a strong first season at Brandywine, topping the team with the conference's fourth-highest RBI total at 40. On March 2, Benvignati made history, driving in a program-record eight runs, while hitting for Brandywine's first-ever cycle in a win over Alfred University in Florida.
In addition, Benvignati batted .429, logging eight doubles, three home runs and 25 runs scored. Twenty-two of his knocks came against PSUAC foes as he produced seven multi-hit performances in 20 outings. Benvignati also gave Brandywine standout defense at first base, committing just four errors in 268 chances.
Lawton had a breakout spring, setting career highs with 40 hits, 22 runs scored and 22 RBI, while competing in 35 games. He posted at least one hit in 22 games and recorded 13 games of two or more knocks. Lawton also finished fourth on the team and 14th in the league with 14 stolen bases.
He hit .423 with 22 hits in 52 at-bats against PSUAC pitchers with eight of his 12 extra-base hits coming in 19 conference games. Lawton registered a season-high three RBI in a win over Penn State Hazleton and recorded both of his three-hit outings against conference foes.
Thompson tied for second among PSUAC pitchers with seven victories en route to claiming an All-PSUAC award for the third-straight year. He ranks third in the league with 55.1 innings pitched after firing four complete games, all against conference opponents. Thompson also owns the fourth-lowest earned run average in the league at 3.23, along with 32 strikeouts.
Thompson allowed one or fewer earned runs during each of his first four conference starts. He fired complete-game shutouts in wins over Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Mar. 28 and Penn State Hazleton on Apr. 5. He also recorded a season-high eight strikeouts during the March 28th victory.
Snyder was one of six players in the conference to record more than 50 hits, tallying 51 in 132 at-bats for a .386 batting average. He reached base safely in 28-of-37 games, while producing six games of three-plus knocks, including a 5-for-6 performance against Penn State York on Apr. 19 when he also drove in five runs.
Snyder also worked 20 walks, one shy of the team lead, to produce an on-base percentage of .471. He added 37 runs scored and 27 RBI. He totaled 28 hits, 26 runs and 18 RBI in conference games.
Brandywine (23-14) faces Penn State Mont Alto in a PSUAC Tournament elimination game Sunday at 11:00 AM in State College, Pa.
