MIAA honors 5 Bearcats

By Phil Cobb | May 7, 2015 |

DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northwest senior second baseman Paul Johnson smokes a single up the middle during a 10-3 loss to Washburn April 16 at Bearcat Field. Johnson was named an All-MIAA second teamer Thursday morning.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Northwest senior second baseman Paul Johnson earned second team All-MIAA baseball honors from the conference in a release on Thursday. Johnson was joined by three other Bearcats on the honor sheet as senior first baseman Steven Garber was named third team All-MIAA while junior shortstop Nick Gotta, sophomore starter Anthony Caenepeel and senior closer Carson Smith garnered honorable mention accolades.

Johnson concluded his career with the Bearcats by putting together his best offensive season. The second baseman started 45 times and appeared in 47 games. He led the team with a .364 batting average, going 59-for-162 at the plate. He had seven doubles, three triples and three home runs. He crossed the plate 34 times and drove in 27 runs. On the base paths, he was third on the team with seven stolen bases.

Garber matched Johnson with a .364 batting average. He led the Bearcats with seven home runs, 43 RBI and 93 total bases. He had 59 hits, which tied Johnson for the team lead, and also had 13 doubles, which matched Austin Wulff’s total. Garber was the only member of the team to appear and start all 48 games for Northwest in 2015.

Caenepeel made 11 starts for the Bearcats, going 4-3 on the year. He led the team in strikeouts with 62 and innings pitched with 66.2. He had a pair of complete-game performances and held better than a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio (62-29.)

Smith appeared in a team-high 21 contests for Northwest. He pitched 35.2 innings, compiling 33 strikeouts. Smith had a 4.29 era and notched a team-best nine saves.

Gotta appeared in all 48 games for the Bearcats with 47 starts at shortstop. He hit .328 with 57 hits, 19 RBI and 35 runs scored. Gotta finished the year with 11 doubles, two triples and two home runs. He was second on the team with eight stolen bases.