Wendle Named to Another All-American team

The following is a press release from the West Chester University Athletic Department.

The accolades and awards keep rolling in for the NCAA Division II national champions and senior 2B Joe Wendle and sophomore RHP Joe Gunkel. Both were named All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA).

Wendle, who was a sixth-round draft pick by the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, earns his third first-team All-America honor this spring. He was also named first team All-America by both Daktronics, Inc., and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA). Gunkel, who was named the most outstanding player at the Division II national finals, was a second team selection from the Golden Rams.

Wendle hit .399 with 19 doubles, 9 triples, 12 home runs and 59 RBI in leading West Chester to the Division II national championship. The Pennsylvania  State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division player of the year ranks among the Top 10 all-time at WCU in 11 offensive categories and won the PSAC triple crown, leading the conference in batting average, home runs and RBI. This is Wendle’s first All-America citation from the coaches’ association in his four-year career.

Gunkel finished off a dazzling sophomore season with 18 shutout innings in two starts at the College World Series. He came three outs away from throwing a no-hitter in the opener of that series against Chico State (Calif.). Gunkel posted a 10-1 record overall with a 2.07 ERA. He tossed a five-hit, complete-game shutout in the national championship game, leading the Rams to a 9-0 win over Delta State (Miss.). This This is Wendle’s first All-America citation from the coaches’ association in his four-year career.

West Chester won its first national championship in baseball last Saturday and finished the year at 46-10 overall. The Golden Rams tied the school record for wins in a single season, ending the year on a 12-game winning streak. Along the way, West Chester won the PSAC championship, Atlantic Region championship and national championship by combined scores of 25-0.

2012 Rawlings/ABCA Division II All-America Teams
2012 Rawlings/ABCA National Player of Year: Nate Minnich (Shepherd)

FIRST TEAM
Pos.    Name (School)                                           Year
1B     Nate Minnich (Shepherd)                           Senior
2B     Joe Wendle (West Chester)                    Senior
3B     Bryan Lippincott (Concordia)                    Senior
SS    Blake Miller (Western Oregon)                  Junior
INF     Kyle Koeneman (Carson-Newman)      Senior
OF     Eli Davis (Cal State Stanislaus)              Senior
OF     Jeff Popick (Colorado Mesa)                    Senior
OF     James Roche (Franklin Pierce)               Senior
OF     Zach Taylor (Armstrong Atlantic)              Junior
C     Geno Escalante (Mount Olive)                   Junior
DH     Anthony Boza (Lynn)                                 Senior
SP     Geoff Broussard (Cal Poly Pomona)     Senior
SP     Donovan Drake (Indianapolis)                Senior
SP     Tim Flight (So. New Hampshire)            Junior
SP     Carl O'Neal (St. Mary’s [TX])                     Junior
RP     Stephen Johnson (St. Edward's)           Junior

SECOND TEAM
1B     Zach Mathieu (Franklin Pierce)                 Sophomore
2B     Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern)        Sophomore
3B     Daniel Duran (Cal State Los Angeles)    Senior
SS    Seth McMullen (Winona State)                   Junior
INF     Jonathan Finnegan (Arkansas Tech)     Junior
OF     Casey Allison (Wingate)                            Senior
OF     Lee Neumann (Angelo State)                   Junior
OF     Areo Regoli (Nova Southeastern)            Senior
OF     Jordan White (Kentucky Wesleyan)         Senior
C     Jon Carnahan (Delta State)                         Senior
DH     Nicholas Sell (Seton Hill)                          Freshman
SP     Joe Gunkel (West Chester)                     Sophomore
SP     John Healy (Saint Anselm)                        Senior
SP     Lee Stoppelman (Central Missouri)        Senior
SP     Grady Wood (Western Oregon)                Senior
RP     Brad Zambron (Grand Valley St.)             Junior

THIRD TEAM
1B     Bo Folkinga (Western Oregon)                  Senior
2B     Chase Lacomb (Col. St. Pueblo)              Junior
3B     John Calhoun (Wasburn)                           Senior
SS     Grant DeBruin (Alabama-Huntsville)       Senior
INF     Jarius Brown (Stillman)                             Senior
INF     Nate Van Roekel (Winona State)             Senior
OF     Sean Collete (Alderson Broadus)            Junior
OF     Alexi Colon (Tusculum)                              Senior
OF     Shane Latshaw (Mercyhurst)                    Senior
OF     Michael Vinson (Delta State)                     Junior
OF     Brian Wuest (Nebraska-Kearney)            Junior
C     Jared Cowan (Grand Valley State)             Senior
DH     Joe Vaskas (Emporia)                               Senior
SP     Sean Bierman (Tampa)                             Senior
SP     Craig Goodman (Tusculum)                     Senior
SP     Derek Hansen (Augustana)                      Senior
SP     Ben Rawding (Mercyhurst)                        Junior
SP     Mark Sappington (Rockhurst)                   Junior
RP     Cameron Dullnig (Texas A&M Kingsville)     Senior
RP     Emilio Pagan (Belmont Abbey)         Junior