Klein, Healey earn first team Horizon League

YOUNGSTOWN — Sophomore pitcher Phil Klein and junior shortstop Jacke Healey were named first team All-Horizon League by the league’s coaches.

Second baseman David Leon and utility player Eric Marzec earned second-team accolades, and Healey was honored on the all-newcomer team.

Klein, Healey and Leon are first-time honorees, and Marzec was named to the second team for the second straight season.

Klein has been perhaps the Horizon League’s most-improved player. The sophomore right-hander went 5-1 with a 4.19 ERA, and he struck out 76 batters in 73 innings during the regular season.

He was even better in league contests, posting a 4-0 record, a 3.83 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings. His 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings led all starting pitchers. Last season, Klein was 1-1 with a 11.09 ERA and pitched in just 18.2 innings.

Healey hit a team-high eight home runs during the regular season, and he also led the Penguins in runs scored, RBIs, doubles, slugging percentage and total bases. He batted .377 with runners in scoring position, and he was strong defensively with a .951 fielding percentage. Healey is the first shortstop in school history to be named first-team all-conference. He is in his first year at YSU as a transfer from Potomac State College.

Leon finished the regular season on a hot streak, hitting safely in 10 of the final 12 games and batting .419 over the span. He finished the season with a .283 average, 24 runs scored, 15 RBIs, five steals and a .965 fielding percentage.

Marzec was the second-team utility man for the second straight season despite an injury keeping out of every game since April 18.

On that date, Marzec was leading the Penguins in triples, home runs and slugging percentage in the middle of the order. On the mound, Marzec had two saves, a 2.40 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings out of the bullpen.

Wright State players earned three of the top awards as Jeff Mercer was named the player of the year, Quentin Cate was the newcomer of the year and Michael Schum was the relief pitcher of the year.

UIC’s Adam Worthington was named the top pitcher and Milwaukee skipper Scott Duffek was voted top coach.

Horizon tournament

The sixth-seeded Penguins will meet No. 7 Butler in a single elimination game at 3 p.m. today at the Pipe Yard in Lorain, Ohio, in the opening round of the Horizon League tournament.

The winner will play No. 3 Wright State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Tournament will be held at The Pipe Yard in Lorain, Ohio. If YSU (10-14 in Horizon) can advance past Butler (6-20), the rest of the tournament will be a double-elimination format.

All tournament games will be broadcast live on YSUsports.com.

UIC won the Horizon League regular season title for the eighth consecutive season and will be the top seed.

Milwaukee, Wright State, Valparaiso and Cleveland State finished second through fifth.

The Penguins went 4-1 against Butler, including a three-game sweep at Eastwood Field on April 4-5.

For complete coverage, visit www.horizonleague.org.