By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
JACKSON, Tenn. – With under 24 hours remaining until the beginning of the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, the league unveiled its annual postseason awards Tuesday evening. Five members of the Tennessee Tech baseball team took home recognition for their individual performances on the field during the regular season.
Four-time All-American and senior shortstop Dylan Bosheers took home All-OVC First Team honors, senior hurler Chris Chism was named to the All-OVC Second Team, redshirt freshman designated hitter Ryan Flick was honored as the OVC Rookie of the Year and shared in earning a spot on the OVC All-Freshman Team with freshman pitcher Travis Moths and freshman first baseman Chase Chambers.
For the fourth time in his career, Bosheers was recognized by the OVC, earning his second straight First Team accolades. The Lawrenceburg, Tenn. native also took home Second Team honors as a sophomore and was a member of the OVC All-Freshman Team in 2012. This season he earned a place on the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award Watch List for the third consecutive year.
His fourth season as a starter, Bosheers has made his mark on the Golden Eagle career record book, supplanting his name among the top of nearly every offensive statistical category. He now sits as the program's all-time leader in doubles with 59 and ranks second in games played (218, all starts), at bats (836), runs (189), hits (275), and total bases (430). His 174 career RBI ranks third in Tech history, behind just A.J. Kirby-Jones and Zach Stephens. He became just the fifth Golden Eagle to tally 100 walks in a career and tied for seventh all-time with 28 home runs.
This season, the senior captain leads the squad with a .333 batting average, 65 hits, .549 slugging percentage, 48 runs scored and 19 doubles. He ranks second on the team with seven long balls, 38 RBI and an on base percentage of .421.
In his second season on the bump for the Golden Eagles, Chism stepped up in huge way after injury forced his way into the starting rotation, leading the team with seven victories on his way to his first postseason honors from the OVC. He finished the regular season with a 4.66 ERA over 73 and one third innings pitched while fanning 62 batters and walking just 23.
The senior Tampa, Fla. took home National Player of the Week honors from several sources after turning in a career performance against UT Martin earlier in the season. Chism struck out 17 batters during a one-hit shutout, retiring 23 straight Skyhawk batters and allowing just one walk in one of the best outings by a Tech hurler in program history.
In his first season with Tennessee Tech, Flick led the team and ranked fourth in the OVC in RBI (57). For the year the designated hitter had 16 multi-RBI games, which ranked seventh in the OVC, and added 18 multi-hit contests. Overall he hit .289 with 57 hits, 39 runs, 16 doubles and 10 home runs in 52 games.
He became the first Golden Eagle freshman to hit 10-plus home runs since Zach Stephens in 2011 (Stephens would go on to set OVC career records for home runs, RBI and total bases). In Conference-only games he upped his batting average to .305 and ranked third in the league with 39 RBI. During the last week of the season he had a 4-for-5 game with a home run and six RBI. He enters the postseason with a 14-game streak of reaching base safely. Flick is the second Tennessee Tech player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year and first since 2002 (Cole Helms).
Chambers started 51 games at first base for the Tech squad, amassing six home runs and 35 RBI (third on the team). He scored 29 runs and drew 32 walks while slugging .421. He wrapped up the regular season batting .251 and with an on base percentage of .382.
Moths began the year as a starter before making the transition to the bullpen, fanning batter left and right the whole way. The Tech rookie captured five victories to rank second on the team while also converting his first save attempt in the final game of the regular season. He finished the year with a 5.85 ERA, fanning 56 batters in 52 and one third innings of work while walking just 22.
The Golden Eagles will play its first tournament game of the 2015 OVC Tournament on Wednesday at 3 p.m., taking on the No. 5 seeded Jacksonville State Gamecocks. The game will broadcast on FM 106.1 The Eagle by Dylan Vazzano with Mike Lehman providing color commentary and can also be viewed on the OVC Digital Network.
Photo by Mike Lehman
