ANNVILLE, Pa. - On Monday morning the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announced the 2022 All-MAC Commonwealth baseball teams and of the Year honorees. Among the student-athletes honored were six Falcons including the
Dustin Isanogle, who was named the MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Isanogle was named to the First Team along with teammates
Kenny Runkel and
Kasey Caras. A trio of Falcons were named Honorable Mention All-Conference as well with
Nathan Stein,
Sam Zercher, and
Evan Wagaman picking up honors as well.
With his Rookie of the Year honor,
Dustin Isanogle becomes just the fourth Falcon in program history to be named the conference's rookie of the year, joining
Jarod Bingaman (2019), Jon Lapp (2011), and Chris Heisey (2004).
With six honorees this season, Messiah turned in their most All-Conference nods in a single season since the 2016 season when they also had six honors.
Dustin Isanogle earned his Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Conference honor as Messiah's primary backstop, starting 34 games and appearing in 38 contests on the year. The Falcons' second-leading hitter, Isanogle batted .341 on the season with a .454 on base percentage thanks to 21 walks against just 14 strikeouts. An all-around player Isanogle ripped seven doubles while driving home 21 runs and scoring 23 of his own. On the bases Isanogle finished second on the team with 17 stolen bases while being caught just once. Defensively, Isanogle turned in a .984 fielding percentage while catching nearly half of would-be base stealers, throwing out 17 runners on the season while allowing just 19 stolen bases.
Last season,
Kasey Caras was named Second Team All-Conference at first base. A position change and another stellar year at the plate pushed Caras to First Team this season in left field. Caras led the Falcons with a .347 batting average and a slugging percentage just south of .600 at .592. Caras hammered five home runs while finishing the season with 23 extra-base hits and 37 runs batted in. He walked 34 times while stealing 14 bases in 16 attempts. His 1.057 OPS led the team by .200 points as he anchored the middle of the Falcons' order for another season.
Joining Isanogle and Caras on the First Team was relief pitcher
Kenny Runkel. Picking up his first-career All-Conference honor, Runkel was stellar out of the bullpen during his senior season. In his nine appearances, Runnkel threw to a 1.71 ERA while going 5-1. Runkel tossed 26.1 innings this season, striking out 31 batters and walking just nine. He allowed only four doubles and 20 total hits for a WHIP of 1.10, also the best on the team. Additionally, he held batters to a .217 batting average against as one of the go-to arms our of Messiah's bullpen.
Nathan Stein earned Honorable Mention All-Conference nod after a strong sophomore season on the hill. Stein claimed his honor as a relief pitcher, but started eight games for the Falcons on the season. Stein made 13 total appearances, pitching to a 3.52 ERA, second on the team only to Runkel. Stein tossed 53.2 innings this season, striking out 50 batters and allowing just 39 hits. Stein held opposing batters to a .200 average while holding a quality WHIP of 1.16.
Junior
Sam Zercher started all 40 games for the Falcons this season, primarily playing at the hot corner. Zercher finished the season with a .311 batting average with five home runs and 34 RBI. In total, 19 of his team-high 52 hits went for extra bases as he finished the season with a .497 slugging percentage. He tied for second on the team with 34 runs scored and even stole five bases in six attempts during the 2022 season.
In right field,
Evan Wagaman started all 40 games for the Falcons during his first season in Grantham. Wagaman hit for a .293 batting average with 26 RBI, a pair of home runs and 13 extra-base hits. Wagaman stole 14 bases in 16 attempts while scoring 21 runs on the year. His 24 walks were third on the team and he ended the year with a .428 on-base percentage.
These six players, helped the Falcons finish the year with an overall record of 20-20, earning a trip to the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game.
