ST. LOUIS -- Indiana State baseball had four players earn All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, the Valley announced on Tuesday.
Jake Means (3B) earned First Team All-MVC and was named to the All-Defensive Team.
Dane Giesler (1B) and
Tyler Ward (RHP) earned Second Team All-MVC while
Jarrod Watkins (2B) was tabbed to the All-Defensive Team. All-MVC honors are voted on by the league's eight head coaches.
Means led the Sycamores at the plate during MVC play with a team-high .315 batting average. The Gardner, Kansas product is second on the team and sits in the top-10 in The Valley with 10 home runs on the season while driving in 30 runs on 48 base hits. The best third baseman in the MVC, Means holds a .940 fielding percentage and has been a part of nine double plays, including four at Mizzou.
Giesler earns All-MVC honors for the second-straight season after being named to the Second Team in 2017. He leads the MVC with 12 home runs and is in the top-10 in RBI with 43 runs driven in. A Jasper, Indian native, Giesler is currently tied for fourth-place in program history with 32 career home runs. The redshirt senior is second on the team with 10 multi-RBI games this season and holds a .584 slugging percentage.
Ward holds a 6-3 record on the year with a 3.66 ERA in nine starts for the Sycamores. The junior right-hander has two complete games under his belt this season, including a complete game shutout of Dallas Baptist after striking out eight and walking just two Patriots. He also retired eight of the final nine batters he saw in the game. In 64 innings, the Santa Claus, Indiana native has struck out 55 batters and walked just 13 while holding the opposition to a .252 average against.
Watkins picks up his first All-MVC honor of his career at Indiana State after a phenomenal junior campaign. He ranks second on the team with a .314 batting average and 12 doubles. One of the best fielders in The Valley, Watkins assisted in all eight of the team's double plays in four games. On the season, Watkins holds a .976 fielding percentage and has assisted on 38 of the teams' 45 double plays.
The Sycamores open the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. ET in Dallas, Texas against Southern Illinois. Fans can listen via GoSycamores.com/Watch or watch on ESPN+.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, be sure to visit
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