CHICAGO, ILL.—Six members of the Illinois Institute of Technology baseball team landed a spot on the 2021 All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Baseball South Division Team on Monday afternoon. Sophomore pitcher Austin Richardson, senior first baseman Ted Howell, junior second baseman Brandon Bennitt, sophomore 3B/P Connor Blake, and senior shortstop Nick Bledsoe each found their name on the 2021 All-NACC Baseball South Division Team. Senior pitcher Roberto Carselle was named to the 2021 All-NACC Baseball South Division Honorable Mention list.
Richardson, Howell, Bennitt, and Blake each earned all-conference honors for the first time. This mark's Bledsoe and Carselle's second all-conference nod. Bledsoe was named to the 2019 All-NACC Second Team, while Carselle earned 2018 All-Association of Division III Independents Second Team accolades.
2021 NACC Baseball Awards
Pitcher of the Year
North: Tyler Drezek (Concordia Wis.) / Tyler Gronert (MSOE)
South: Nick Malmberg (Aurora)
Position Player of the Year
North: Sam Beers (Concordia Wis.) / Sean Meyer (Marian)
South: Jack Surin (Benedictine Ill.)
Freshman of the Year
North: Kyle Sagan (Edgewood) / Andrew Muffler (Wisconsin Lutheran)
South: Jared Herzog (Rockford)
Coach of the Year
North: Jordan Baitinger (Marian)
South: Adam Stevens (Aurora)
Howell paced the Scarlet Hawks offense with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 43 RBI, and a .771 slugging percentage. The Parker, Colorado native finished the season with a .407 (48-of-118) batting average, 34 runs scored, and a .452 on-base percentage. Howell's 20 doubles currently ranks fifth in NCAA Division III. His game of note occurred in an 18-8 loss to Aurora on April 18, when he went 4-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored in game two. The 2019 season ended with Howell being named to the College of Sports Information Director's of American (COSIDA) Academic All-American Second Team. Howell is a two-time NACC Scholar Athlete.
Bledsoe led the team with a .423 (47-of-111) batting average, 18 walks, a .489 on-base percentage, and four triples. The Crete, Illinois native's biggest moment of the season occurred in an 11-8 (11 innings) win over Aurora on April 17, when his bases-loaded triple in the 11th inning broke an 8-8 tie and gave the Scarlet Hawks an 11-8 lead and eventual victory. Bledsoe's performance secured him April 20 NACC Baseball South Division Position Player of the Week as a shortstop. He added 36 RBI, seven doubles, three home runs, seven stolen bases, and a .640 slugging percentage to his 2021 stat line.
Bennitt registered a team-leading 50 hits (.417 batting average, 50-of-120). The Mokena, Illinois native added 15 doubles, five home runs, 30 RBI, 13 walks, six stolen bases, 39 runs scored, a .683 slugging percentage, and a .463 on-base percentage in 2021. Bennitt went 4-for-6 with four RBI in an 18-12 victory over Concordia Chicago on April 12.
Blake saw time as designated hitter, third baseman, and pitcher for the Scarlet Hawks in 2021. The Plainfield, Illinois native finished the 2021 season with a team-leading seven home runs, 18 walks, and 45 runs scored. Blake contributed a .375 (42-of-112) batting average, 11 doubles, 31 RBI, a .486 on-base percentage, and a .661 slugging percentage. He also logged 24.2 innings of pitching work that resulted in 25 strikeouts, a 1-1 win-loss record, and a 7.66 ERA over six appearances and five starts. Blake went 4-for-6 with three runs scored in an 18-12 victory over Concordia Chicago on April 12, and tallied three-hit games on four occasions in 2021. He landed March 30 NACC Baseball South Division Position Player of the Week, and May 4 d3baseball.com Team of the Week.
Richardson finished the 2021 season with a perfect 4-0 win-loss record and 40.2 innings pitched along with a team-leading 4.87 ERA and 47 strikeouts over seven starts. The Plainfield, Illinois native notched a career-high 15 strikeouts and allowed just two hits over 7.0 innings of work in a 5-1 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran on March 20. Richardson's performance in that game landed him March 23 NACC South Pitcher of the Week.
Carselle paced the Illinois Tech pitching staff with 47.2 innings of work and a 5-3 win-loss record. The Lewis Center, Ohio native finished the 2021 season with a 5.48 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 13 appearances and four starts. Carselle's best game of the season occurred in an 18-7 victory over Concordia (Wis.) on March 24, when he allowed eight hits and struck out seven batters over 5.2 innings of service in the winning decision.
The Scarlet Hawks finished the 2021 season with a 19-10 record.