MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - The 2009 Division II Daktronics All-America baseball teams have been released with senior Jake Schmidt (Oakdale, Minn.) earning honorable mention honors as a utility player. Schmidt is one of only two players recognized on the Daktronics All-America teams, the other being SMSU's Derek West. FULL RELEASE
He is the second Daktronics All-America honoree joining Matt Borman, who was a 2007 First Team All-American by Daktronics.
Schmidt was the Daktronics Central Region Pitcher of the Year and was a First Team selection at the utility position. He posted a 7-2 record with a save in his senior season and finished a 23-8 career pitcher with six saves. He held a 3.78 earned run average as a senior concluding his four years with a 4.08 mark. In 2009, Schmidt struck out a school record 103 batters while leading all Division II pitchers with 13.43 strikeouts per nine innings. He finished his career with 273 strikeouts, a CU career record and he struck out a career-high 16 batters at Minnesota, Crookston in his second to last start.
The true definition of a utility player, Schmidt played four positions nearly perfectly, only committing one error between centerfield, second base, first base and pitcher. He was Concordia's leadoff hitter in all but one of the 47 games he played in, hitting .365 with 10 home runs, 10 doubles, 37 RBI and eight stolen bases while scoring 49 times.
Schmidt was the NSIC Pitcher of the Year and an All-NSIC First Team performer. He was the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, a Preseason All-American and won the NSIC Pitcher of the Week award twice and the NSIC Player of the Week award once. He was named the CU Athlete of the Week five times throughout the 2009 season.
The Daktronics Central Region Player of the Year, Mesa State's Matt Bodenchuk, was named to the first team as was CSU-Pueblo outfielder Jason Fobes. Mesa State second baseman Kevin Becker was a second team selection while N.M. Highlands DH Jason Carr was an honorable mention pick along with Schmidt and West to wrap up the Central Region's representatives on the All-America teams.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The online nomination and voting processes are powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM. Headquartered in Charleston, S.C., ATHLETICSITE.COM is the official provider for college athletic websites for over 30 sports organizations, including 26 colleges, universities and conferences primarily at the NCAA Division II level. To receive more information on how your institution can partner with ATHLETICSITE.COM for a customized website solution, visit www.athleticsite.com.
