Grace College’s baseball team picked up four postseason awards from the Crossroads League this week.
Patrick Danforth, Jake Decker and Chris Griffin were all honorable mention for All-League, and Sam Newkirk was named to the 11-player Gold Glove Team.
Danforth led Grace offensively with a .326 batting average as a freshman. He had 42 hits in 43 games, adding 6 doubles, 3 triples and 2 home runs. Danforth was lethal on the base paths, stealing 15 bases in 16 tries.
Decker impressed from the mound, posting a 4.40 ERA in 45 innings pitched. He struck out 29 batters and held opponents to a .251 batting average.
Griffin hit at least .300 for the third consecutive season. He batted .303 for the season with a team-high .503 slugging percentage. He finished first on the team with 44 hits, 6 home runs and 24 RBIs.
Newkirk was honored as the top defensive catcher in the league, earning his spot on the Gold Glove Team. He produced a fielding percentage of .983 and threw out nine attempted base stealers (.679 percentage). At the plate, Newkirk had a team-high 13 doubles to go along with 1 triple, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. — from gclancers.com