Washington & Jefferson's Marsico, Mountain win PAC baseball awards

Fresh off claiming the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship over the weekend, Washington & Jefferson’s baseball team kept its winning going.

W&J junior Ben Marsico (North Allegheny) was named PAC Pitcher of the Year Tuesday, when the league revealed its major award winners and all-conference teams, while Presidents coach Jeff Mountain earned Coach of the Year honors. Thiel senior Nick Fowkes (Ringgold) was named Player of the Year.

Marsico, W&J’s third consecutive Pitcher of the Year, has a record of 10-1 with a 3.36 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings. His 10 wins lead the league, and he went 8-0 in conference games during the regular season.

Mountain, who led the Presidents to their 12th PAC title and the eighth in his 17 seasons as coach, was named Coach of the Year for the eighth time.

Fowkes, an outfielder, led the PAC with a .447 batting average — a Thiel single-season record — and also topped the league with 71 hits, 46 RBIs, 47 runs scored, 107 total bases and a .494 on-base percentage. He had 15 doubles, three triples and five home runs.

In addition to the major awards, the PAC released its all-conference teams. W&J, which beat Bethany for the conference championship on Saturday, placed six players on the all-conference first team, most of any school. In addition to Marsico, the Presidents were represented on the first team by senior first baseman Josh Crummer, senior second baseman Mullen Socha, senior shortstop Spencer Howell, senior outfielder James Artale and senior outfielder Dante Dalesandro (Mt. Lebanon).

The PAC’s nine coaches vote on awards and all-conference teams. The full list of honorees can be found on the conference website, www.pacathletics.org.