Misericordia University baseball players Ian McCole and Kenny Jarema received national and regional recognition in the aftermath of the team’s elimination from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournament.
Both McCole and Jarema were named to the ABCA/Rawlings Mid-Atlantic All-Region team and each was named to one All-American team in the week following the team’s elimination from the South Super Regional May 25. The Cougars fell two wins short of advancing to the NCAA Division III World Series.
McCole, a sophomore pitcher, was a third-team choice on the ABCA/Rawlings All-America team. He set a school record for wins in a season while going 11-1 with a 2.29 earned run average and 64 strikeouts.
The 11 wins ranked McCole tied for fourth in the nation. He started 13 games and pitched in two others in relief while earning ECAC Pitcher of the Year and MAC Freedom Championships Most Valuable Player honors.
After winning two games in the MAC Freedom playoffs, McCole got the win against Christopher Newport in Misericordia’s national tournament opener.
Jarema, a senior shortstop, was named to the third-team D3baseball.com All-American.
The MAC Freedom and ECAC Player of the Year led the Cougars with a .439 batting average while setting school records for walks in a season (50) and career (177).
Misericordia (35-13) won its ninth straight MAC Freedom title.
The Cougars made it through the regional on the first weekend of NCAA Tournament play by sweeping three straight from Christopher Newport before dropping two straight to Washington & Jefferson at home at Tambur Field in the South Super Regional.
The season ended in a 5-4 loss despite two hits and two RBI by Jarema, who ended his career by reaching base in his last 36 games.
Washington & Jefferson (37-11) advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series for the second time in three years with the help of an 8-3 win in the series opener.
