Riley, Leskow and Waterman Named All-HCAC

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2011 Baseball All-HCAC Squad on Tuesday, with Defiance putting David Riley, Stephen Leskow and Darin Waterman on the Honorable Mention All-HCAC Team.

Riley earned his first All-HCAC accolade after posting career highs with a .255 batting average, 98 at bats, seven doubles, eight runs scored and eight runs batted in. The Xenia, Ohio native returned from injury in 2011 to start 33 games behind the plate for the Yellow Jackets and led all league backstops by throwing out 15 runners attempting to steal.

Leskow posted career bests of nine games started, 49.2 innings pitched, a 5.62 earned-run average and 33 strikeouts during his sophomore campaign to net his first All-HCAC nod. The Defiance, Ohio native excelled in league action, going at least six innings in five of his six HCAC starts and holding teams to three earned runs or fewer in all but one. Leskow ranked 11th in the HCAC among pitchers with at least five league starts with a 4.29 ERA in conference play.

Waterman joined Riley and Leskow as an Honorable Mention All-HCAC performer after bursting onto the collegiate scene during his rookie season. The Celina, Ohio native led Defiance with 10 games started on the mound and piled up a team-leading 47 strikeouts, while posting two wins and a 5.54 ERA. Waterman was especially tough in the first half of the year, going 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 29 innings of work over his first five outings.

The Jackets are in position to return 30-of-33 members from the 2011 squad, including eight offensive starters and all but one member of the pitching staff.