LANCASTER, Pa. – Following a remarkable turnaround from last place to the championship series, the Ursinus College baseball team placed six players on the All-Centennial Conference Team.
Senior first baseman Austin Kurey was voted to the first team, while senior pitcher Seth Regensburg and junior center fielder Travis Kozak made the second team. Senior third baseman Alex Campbell, sophomore shortstop Carter Usowski, and freshman left fielder Alex Mumme all received honorable mention. All six were first-time all-conference performers.
Kurey made his final season the best of his Ursinus tenure, posting career highs in batting average (.312), hits (43), runs (29), doubles (9), home runs (4), RBI (24), on-base percentage (.370), and slugging percentage (.478); his previous bests were a .250 average, .337 on-base percentage, .337 slugging percentage, 23 hits, and 17 runs. Kurey's four home runs tied for the team lead, and one of them came in a 6-4 victory over Haverford that sent the Bears to the conference championship. Kurey also went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI in the playoff-clinching win at Washington College, when he registered his 100th career hit.
Kurey's first team selection gives the Bears three straight years with the All-CC first baseman; Chris Jablonski attained first team status in 2015 and 2016.
Regensburg continued his climb up the all-time pitching charts with a dominant campaign in which he went 7-2 with a 3.11 ERA, leading the CC in innings (75.1) and complete games (3) while ranking second in victories and third in strikeouts (75). Regensburg, who produced two double-digit strikeout performances and threw a four-hit shutout at Franklin & Marshall, led the CC with a 5-1 record and 45 strikeouts in league contests. He also proved useful with the bat, going 7-for-24 with six RBI in limited action in the outfield.
Regensburg ends his career third in school history in strikeouts (214) and fourth in innings (210.2).
Kozak gave the Bears a dynamic leadoff hitter, leading the squad and ranking inside the top 10 in the CC with a .459 on-base percentage and 36 runs scored. The lefty, who hit .349 with 16 RBI, was hit by a pitch 21 times to lead the conference and rank fourth in Division III; he also paced the CC with 10 sacrifices. Kozak's 53 hits are tied for fourth-most in single-season school history.
Campbell matched Kozak with 53 hits to tie for second on the team with a .351 batting average in addition to tying for the Ursinus lead with four home runs and placing second in RBI (32) and runs (31). Campbell produced 11 doubles, eight of which came in CC play, and finished his career with 101 hits.
Usowski rode a scorching start to a sensational sophomore season in which he led the Bears in RBI (33) and hits (53). Usowski, who matched Campbell's .351 average down to the same at-bat totals, scored 28 runs and had 14 doubles to tie for fourth in school history. His best performance came in a 16-2 rout of Gettysburg, when he finished 4-for-5 with three runs and a career-high five RBI, and he went 3-for-6 with three RBI in the win at Washington College that put the Bears in the postseason. Through his first two seasons, Usowski is a career .347 hitter.
Despite missing a month of action in the early part of the season, Mumme made his presence felt in a big way with a record-setting rookie year. In just 29 games, Mumme hit .417 with a school-record 20 doubles, four home runs, 26 RBI, and a .748 slugging percentage. The freshman shined in the CC playoffs, going 8-for-17 with three doubles, two homers, and three RBI; the two home runs both came in a 10-7 victory over Gettysburg in an elimination contest, making Mumme just the seventh player ever to hit two homers in a CC playoff game. Mumme ranks fourth in all of Division III in doubles, but played at least nine fewer games than anyone ahead of him on the list.
Senior Jake Banks recieved recognition on the All-CC Sportsmanship Team. A respected team leader and strong base-runner, Banks scored three runs and had three RBI this season.
Ursinus finished the 2017 season at 25-16 overall, matching its highest win total since 2000 and reaching the CC championship for the first time since 2007.