ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announced its All-Conference selections on Friday morning as a trio of Messiah baseball players earned recognition.
Trent Culver (First Team),
Kasey Caras (Second Team), and
Jarod Bingaman all claimed All-MAC Commonwealth nods.
Culver earns his second First Team selection (2019) of his career, batting .370 on the season. Getting on base in nearly half of his at-bats (.495%), Culver swiped a team-high 14 bags, getting thrown out on just two occasions (.875%). Culver swatted four home runs throughout the 2021 campaign, knocking in a career-high 20 RBI. The senior outfielder was the go-to leadoff man for Messiah, working a conference-best 20 walks. Culver made contributions on the mound for the Falcons as well, making 12 appearances across a total of 34.0 innings, striking out a team-high 39 batters.
Bingaman, who also claims his second All-Conference nod (2019) of his career, led Messiah in runs scored (34), batting at a .323 clip. The shortstop had a season-high three RBI in a road loss at Lebanon Valley (Mar. 27), going 2-for-4 with a home run. Entering the 2021 season, Bingaman had just one home run in 47 games played for the Falcons. This season, Bingaman launched four, quadrupling his career mark. Bingaman recorded a total of eight multi-hit games on the season.
Caras is awarded with his first-career All-Conference selection after tying the program-best number in home runs (10). The slugger tied the record in the Falcons' final contest of the season, a postseason loss at Alvernia (May 1). Caras led the team in total RBI (29), recording ten multi-RBI games. The Second Team All-MAC selection also led Messiah in batting average (.381), hits (37), slugging percentage (.794), and total bases (77). With a career-high batting average during the 2021 campaign, Caras' ten home runs are a third-best mark in the MAC Commonwealth.
