HIGHLAND, Ill. – Eureka College senior catcher Alex Hess (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central) and junior third baseman Blake McConkey (Fairview, Ill./Spoon River Valley H.S.) have each been named to the 2011 All-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Second Team, SLIAC Commissioner Will Wolper announced during the opening day of the SLIAC Tournament in Highland, Ill., Thursday afternoon. Additionally, senior first baseman Tim Cashdollar (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) received All-SLIAC Honorable Mention and was Eureka's representative on the league's All-Sportsmanship Team.
Hess started all 36 games during his senior campaign, hitting .274 (32-for-117) with a league-best 10 home runs. He led the Red Devils with 33 RBI and also ranked among the team leaders with 26 runs scored and six doubles. His slugging percentage of .581 ranked fifth in the SLIAC. He was also solid defensively, throwing out 14 would-be base stealers to lead all SLIAC catchers and ranking ninth in the league with 188 putouts. Hess has now received postseason recognition from the SLIAC in two consecutive seasons after earning First Team honors as a junior in 2010. He finished his two-year Eureka career with a .309 average, 23 home runs and 77 RBI in 76 games.
McConkey enjoyed a breakout season as Eureka's primary third baseman in 2011, setting new personal season-bests in every offensive category. In 36 starts primarily out of the fifth spot in the Eureka lineup, McConkey hit .385 (42-for-109) with three home runs, 22 RBI and a team-best nine doubles. He ranked fourth in the SLIAC in batting average, ninth in slugging percentage (.550) and tied for second in on-base percentage (.500). McConkey also won five games as one of Eureka's top pitching arms with a 4.99 earned run average and 44 strikeouts in a team-high 52.1 innings pitched. He will enter his senior season in 2012 as one of two three-year players and the active Eureka leader in nearly every offensive and pitching category.
Cashdollar wrapped up his collegiate career with his best offensive season yet, leading the Red Devils with a .393 batting average (48-for-122) and 29 runs scored in 36 starts at first base. He also hit six home runs, seven doubles and drove in 28 runs. Cashdollar joined Westminster first baseman Andrew Jett and Greenville second baseman Kyle Hobar as the only players in the SLIAC to rank among the top-five in the league in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He hit safely in 31 games in 2011 and enjoyed a 14-game hit streak to close his four-year career, hitting .447 (21-for-47) with five home runs and 11 RBI during the stretch. He ended his 119-game career with a .316 batting average, 112 hits, eight home runs, 77 RBI, 18 doubles and 73 runs scored. Cashdollar also received Honorable Mention from the SLIAC as a junior in 2010.
Anthony Genna of regular season SLIAC champion Webster was named SLIAC Player of the Year after hitting .375 with six homers and 45 RBI in 39 starts as the Gorloks' shortstop. Spalding's Tyler Brown earned both the Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards, while Spalding head coach Mike Stawski was voted SLIAC Coach of the Year after directing the Golden Eagles to a 20-4 league record and a second-place finish. Principia received the SLIAC Sportsmanship Award.
The Red Devils concluded their season last week with an 11-25 overall record and a 7-17 SLIAC record to finish seventh in the league.