BHC baseball players named to Rawlings Gold Glove Team

Black Hawk College Braves BaseballThree Black Hawk College baseball players earned a spot on the 2018 NJCAA Division II North Central District/Region IV Rawlings Gold Glove Team.

Shortstop Sam Stonskas also was named Defensive Player of the Year.

The team members are:

  • Chris Liggett, Blue Springs H.S. (MO) – outfielder – freshman
  • Stephen Pim, Pleasant Valley H.S. (IA) – outfielder – sophomore
  • Sam Stonskas, North Scott H.S. (IA) – shortstop – freshman

BHC players claimed three of the nine spots on the Region IV Rawlings Gold Glove Team.

Region IV consists of 12 teams in Illinois and Wisconsin. Competition is stiff in Region IV as two of the schools ranked in the Top 9 nationally in Division II at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

The Braves ended their season 35-17 overall (.673), 27-15 in Region IV (.643) and 16-4 (.800) in the Arrowhead Athletic Conference.

“I am very proud of the players for what they accomplished,” said Arnie Chavera, head coach. “We had a successful season and the credit goes to them and to my assistant coaches, Drew Noble and Nick Doughty.

“There were a lot of questions and concerns about this team last October. Being young and inexperienced presented several challenges. But the players worked hard during the winter and developed over the spring season to help BHC baseball continue its winning tradition,” Chavera said.

“We fell short of our main objective, which is to get to the NJCAA World Series. However, in that pursuit, the players discovered so much about themselves, as a team and as individuals.

“And that’s what this is all really about,” he said.