The McHenry County College (MCC) Athletics Department inducted the 2016 baseball team into the Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday, October 11 in the MCC Commons.
“We’re proud to honor this year’s inductees, to share their accomplishments and contributions to MCC, and to thank them for being part of our Scot family,” said MCC’s Director of Athletics Karen Wiley. “We have amazing individuals to shine the spotlight upon.”
The 2016 baseball team was led by Head Coach Jared Wacker and Assistant Coach Gregg Wikierak. The team consisted of Riley Richarz, J.T. Athy, Jack Lasswell, Sam Hawley, Casy Oliver, Nick Vasic, Peyton Schneider, Jimmy Fischer, Matt Tegtmeier, Eric Bell, Kaz Woodward, Reilly Peltier, Jack Granath, Justin Blasinski, Matt Gruse, Mike Bauer, Collin Chubb, Alex Marro, Mason Martin, Cullen Mayhew, Clark Brinkman, Connor Hafeman, Nick Heidenthal, Gavin Jones, Ben Cusac, A.J. Walters, Tyler Jones, Brett Stratinsky, Austin Butts, James Alexander, Jason Macalpine, Owen Oreskovich, and Andrew Reisinger.
The 2015-2016 team had a standout season, finishing with an impressive 50-12 overall record and a 12-2 conference record. Their home record was 24-2, away record was 25-8, and they went 1-2 on neutral fields.
The Scots were a dominant force in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 4. Their offensive statistics were particularly strong, ranking among the top teams in the NJCAA. The team played 62 games, earned 612 runs, 51 home runs, and had a batting average of .357. Their on-base percentage was .449, slugging percentage .520, and earned run average 3.63. They had 543 runs batted in, 141 stolen bases, and 18 shutouts.
The team's potent offense was reflected in their high rankings, placing third in runs, fifth in batting average, and fourth in runs batted in among their peers.
The 2015-16 team had also had a 3.66 team GPA, the highest in program history at the time.
The McHenry County College Athletics Hall of Fame was instituted in 2004. It honors teams, student-athletes, coaches, administrators, community members, and volunteers who have demonstrated a high degree of success, significant contributions, or meaningful service to MCC Athletic programs. The nomination form, guidelines, and criteria can be found at https://mccscots.com/hof.
Each inductee and their immediate family were invited to attend the induction ceremony. They will also be honored with a plaque on the Athletic Hall of Fame wall outside of the gym and recognized on the MCC Athletic Hall of Fame page on the athletic department’s website.