Baseballs in the area can rest a little easier these days since Blake Bean graduated from Kalamazoo College in June with a degree in business. The balls in Hickory, N.C., however, may want to be on high alert as the slugger will be attending Lenoir-Rhyne University to continue his baseball career and pursue his MBA.

Bean, selected as a D3baseball.com Third-Team All-American this spring, hit .431 on the season with 18 doubles, nine home runs and 44 RBIs for a Hornets squad that finished with a 27-13 record, the second-most victories in school history.

"K has prepared me in many ways for my next steps," said Bean, who prepped at Orchard Lake St. Mary's H.S. (Farmington Hills, Mich.). "Since I will continue to play baseball, I know the expectations for work ethic on the field and in the classroom.

"My senior capstone class prepared me for my graduate classes coming up," said Bean, who credited Professors Amy MacMillan and Timothy Moffit for "explaining how a graduate-level class is run."

Bean credits his time as a student-athlete for learning the time-management skills needed to thrive at K. He credited his entire freshman year as the most important experience he had in Kalamazoo.

"I learned that no matter how bad it got that I had to just keep going forward and working hard to get the results that I wanted.

"In the classroom, I learned that I had to put more hours of studying in to get the grades that I wanted. On the field, I learned that I had to work so much harder in the weight room and use the extra time out of practice to become the player I knew I could be."

Oh, and what a player he became. Bean finished his Kalamazoo career with a .375 batting average, with 35 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs and 82 RBIs. He was named to the All-MIAA First team in his junior and senior years and was also honored this spring as an All-Region selection by D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings.

It wasn't just personal success that Bean enjoyed: In addition to the 27 wins on the season, he and his teammates earned their way into NCAA III Tournament by claiming the MIAA tournament with a 16-2 victory over Hope College in the championship game.

Bean singled out Kalamazoo College Head Coach Mike Ott as an influence particularly meaningful to his K experience.

"He was the most meaningful person I had here at K. Although he was my coach, he was always open to talking about anything other than baseball. He helped me greatly into becoming the person and player I am today," said Bean. "He has helped me get through personal stuff along with some struggles during baseball. He made me realize my potential and helped me get there and above it."

With such a positive experience in his time in Kalamazoo, it's no surprise that Bean would highly recommend K to any student-athlete considering competing as a Hornet.

"The most important thing they would learn coming through the baseball program is that they will become a better person along with becoming a better player after the four years here at K," Bean said, adding, "Coach does care quite a bit about our performance on the field, but he cares even more about how we conduct ourselves as people."