Sandburg Lands 4 Players on All-Region IV Baseball Team

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GALESBURG — Four Carl Sandburg College baseball players have been voted to the All-Region IV Division II Team for their play for the Chargers this spring.

Sophomore shortstop Braedon Blackford (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) was named first-team all-region, while freshman pitcher Jackson Porter (LaHarpe, Ill./Illini West), sophomore third baseman Jordan Chandler (Erie, Ill./Erie) and sophomore catcher/designated hitter Tyler Womack (Moline, Ill./Moline) were second-team selections.

Only Madison, with six all-region picks, had more players represented than the Chargers, who finished the year 27-13-1 overall and won their second straight Arrowhead Conference title.

One of the top hitters in the country all spring, Blackford led the Chargers in every major offensive category and finished third in NJCAA Division II in on-base percentage (.447), third in slugging percentage (.919) and ninth in batting average (.447). Signed to play next season at Ave Maria University, Blackford ranked 19th nationally with 13 home runs and 24th in the country with 61 runs scored over 168 plate appearances. The Chargers’ leadoff hitter also collected 15 doubles, 54 RBIs, 36 walks and 113 total bases. He was named the NJCAA Division II Player of the Week for April 1-7.

A 6-foot-1 righthander, Porter immediately stepped in as Sandburg’s ace with a team-high 66 1/3 innings over 13 appearances (11 starts). He finished the year 9-1, ranking 11th in the nation in wins. Porter also led the Chargers with a 4.21 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 75 strikeouts. With just 11 walks issued, Porter posted a 6.82 K/BB rate and miniscule 3.7 percent walk rate. Highlighting his spring was a five-inning no-hitter April 6 against Kishwaukee in which he retired 15 straight batters after hitting the leadoff man.

After redshirting last season because of injury, Chandler, who last week was voted the Arrowhead Conference MVP, came back to hit .417 with a .500 on-base percentage and .697 slugging percentage. He finished second on the team to Blackford with 42 runs, eight homers and 92 total bases, and his 42 RBIs were third among Chargers. Chandler also stole a team-high nine bases in 10 attempts.

Womack’s .427 batting average was good for second on the team, and he posted a .471 OBP and .669 slugging percentage. The hard-hitting backstop collected a team-high 20 two-out RBIs and was behind only Blackford in doubles (13), RBIs (49) and extra-base hits (19). He finished third among Sandburg batters with 83 total bases and threw out 31 percent (8 of 26) potential base-stealers.

2019 ALL-REGION IV DIVISION II/NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT BASEBALL TEAM

Player of the Year — Nick Gile (So., Madison)

Coach of the Year — Mike Davenport (Madison)

FIRST TEAM

Pitchers — Patrick Foldy (Fr., Madison), Matt Hamilton (So., Madison), Eliot Turnquist (Fr., Madison)

Catcher — Ryan Parquette (So., McHenry County)

Infielders — Nick Gile (So., Madison), Braedon Blackford (So., Sandburg), Wade Rankin (So., Kankakee), Ryan McGorrian (So., McHenry County)

Outfielders — Nathan Aide (So., Madison), Josue Ortiz (So., Highland), Kolton Moore (Fr., Kankakee)

Designated Hitter — Carlos Del Valle (Fr., Morton)

SECOND TEAM

Pitchers — Jackson Porter (Fr., Sandburg), John Vanderploeg (Fr., McHenry County), Nolan Lebamoff (Fr., Kankakee)

Catcher — Tyler Womack (So., Sandburg)

Infielders — Jeff Heinrich (So., McHenry County), Jordan Chandler (So., Sandburg), Walter Jenkins (So., Madison), Michael Machnic (Fr., Kankakee)

Outfielders — Josh Gains (Fr., Prairie State)

Designated Hitters — Thomas Moran (So., Moraine Valley), Estefferson Melean (Fr., Morton)

***Report Courtesy of Carl Sandburg College***

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