Gardner and Rowland earn Gold Glove Awards

By John Kovach

Two Youngstown-area collegiate baseball players — Josh Gardner of Ohio Wesleyan University and Tyson Rowland of Ashland — were defensive standouts this season and won American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Midwest Regional Gold Glove Awards this season.

Gardner, a sophomore second baseman from Boardman High, won his Gold Glove in NCAA Division III, while Rowland gained his honor in NCAA Div. II. They were one of nine players named to each team.

Gardner, who played in 38 games, participated in 17 double plays, made only two errors and had a fielding percentage of .983 to be named the top defensive second baseman on the nine-player team.

He also batted .238 with 24 hits in 101 at-bats with 16 RBIs, 12 runs scored and four doubles.

Gardner helped the Battling Bishops to a 24-16 record, including 11-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division to tie for third place with Wabash behind Wooster (13-3) and Kenyon (12-4).

Rowland, a senior center fielder for Ashland from Warren Harding High in his fourth season as the starting center fielder, had six assists and a .985 fielding percentage to help the Golden Eagles to a 42-15-1 record.

Ashland also went 26-5-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to win the regular-season championship.

Rowland played in 58 games, starting 57, and batted .301 with 58 hits in 193 trips. He also scored 56 runs and had 38 RBIs, seven doubles, two triples and one homer.

Wooster, meanwhile, with help from senior infielder and captain John Warren of New Castle and Union High, defeated Kenyon twice to win its 12th NCAC Tournment title and qualify for the 23rd time to the NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Scots went on to take national runner-up honors, losing in the finals twice to St. Thomas (Minn.), 6-4 and then 3-2 in 12 innings, to finish with a 43-11 record.

Warren enjoyed a record-setting defensive game in Wooster’s 3-2 loss to St. Thomas with a school-record 10 assists. He also had his team’s only hit during extra innings — a one-out line-drive single in the 11th.

Warren had a team-high 125 assists with a .935 defensive average this season.

He also batted .288 with 49 hits in 170 at-bats and 48 runs scored, 30 RBIs, 111 doubles and four homers.