The Kalamazoo College baseball team saw six players named to the All-MIAA team in voting announced Thursday. Seniors Blake Bean, Spencer Baldwin, and Doug Propson joined junior Thomas Sylvester and sophomore Cooper Mills on the first team, and sophomore Lukas Bolton was named to the second team. Six All-MIAA First and Second Team selections is a record for the Kalamazoo College baseball program.
Bean, a business major, has capped an outstanding career by being named to the first team for the second-consecutive year. The slugger from Farmington Hills (Orchard Lake St. Mary's H.S.) was all business on the diamond as well, leading his squad in batting average (.430), on-base percentage (.582), slugging percentage (.798), runs (52), doubles (17), extra-base hits (26), walks (29) and hit by pitch (14).
In a season that saw his OPS add up to a Ruthian 1.380, Bean also tied for first with fellow senior Max Gordon for the team lead in home runs (seven), and his 38 RBI were good for third highest.
In a game on March 6 against Manchester, Bean set team records for home runs in a game (three) and RBIs (eight). That performance capped off a week that saw him honored as MIAA Position Player of the Week and the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week.
Baldwin, a senior first baseman from Lansing (Holt H.S.), joined Bean as a first-team repeat performer. The biology major's .394 batting average was good enough for second on the team and third in the conference.
Baldwin's slugging percentage (.664), and extra -base hits (21) were also good for second place among the Hornets and his home runs (six) and RBIs (37) placed him third highest on the team. Baldwin tied for the lead in total bases with Bean (91).
Propson completed the trio of Hornet seniors who were named to the first team twice in a row. The economics major from Rochester (Stoney Creek H.S.), was named to the utility slot after mostly starting at third base for the Hornets while also pitching.
His 48 runs batted in led the league, and he twice was named MIAA Position Player of the Week (5/2/22 and 3/28/22). He led the Hornets with 61 hits and 17 stolen bases and was second with 45 runs. Propson also made 10 appearances on the mound, going 2-2 with a 5.26 ERA in 25.2 innings.
This was Sylvester's first time being honored to the All-MIAA team, and the junior pitcher from Livonia (Detroit Catholic Central H.S.), received a first-team slot after finishing second in the conference with 53 strikeouts. The lefty business major finished with a 3-1 record and averaged 10.15 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. He allowed just one home run while pitching a team-leading 47 innings and starting a team-high ten games.
A pair of sophomores rounded out the Hornets making their first all-conference appearances. Mills made the first team as a second baseman and Bolton notched second-team honors in the outfield.
Mills, a business major from Commerce Township (Orchard Lake St. Mary's H.S.), had 41 hits, which found him in a three-way tie for fourth on the team. His .342 batting average was high enough for an outright fourth-place finish and his nine strikeouts were the lowest of any Hornet with a minimum of 100 at-bats.
Bolton, a mathematics major from Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo Central H.S.), batted .328 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. He added three triples and 11 stolen bases, and his 31 runs was fourth on the team. He handled 49 chances in the field with just one error for a fine .980 fielding percentage.
The Hornets finished the regular season with a 23-11 overall record and their 15-6 conference record placed them in second place in the MIAA. They are currently competing in the MIAA Tournament.