GREENSBORO, N.C.- Both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com All-West Region Teams were released today and Cal Lutheran landed six selections with a pair of players earning recognition from both organizations.
The ABCA Second Team All-West Region included starting pitcher Marshall Pautsch while he got a D3baseball.com Third Team All-West Region nod as well. The San Clemente, Calif. native has thrown 101.2 innings to date in 17 appearances with 16 starts. He has accumulated a 9-2 record with three complete games for the Kingsmen. Pautsch has struck out 93 batters for 8.23 strikeouts per nine innings and currently holds a 3.19 ERA. His overall count for Ks ties him for 8th in a single-season at CLU.
Also earning two honors was senior Gabe Gunter who was selected to the Third Team by both organizations. The right fielder sits second on the team with a .350 batting average from 63 hits, including 17 doubles, two triples and five homeruns, with a team-high 39 RBIs through 45 games. He drew 18 walks, stole 11 bases and scored 33 times for the Kingsmen. He holds a .425 on base percentage and a .550 slugging percentage to date. Defensively, Gunter has been perfect with 83 putouts and four assists in 87 chances.
For the second time of his career, Trey Saito became as an ABCA All-West Region recipient. In 2017, he landed on the Third Team after a Second Team selection in 2016. Primarily the CLU catcher, Saito also had stints on the mound as a senior as he has done throughout his career. He has thrown out 16 of the 22 runners who attempted to steal for a .421 runner-caught stealing percentage. Additionally, he holds a .989 fielding percentage with 213 putouts and 46 assists while contributing to one double play in 41 games played. On the rubber, he appeared in nine games with eight starts and earned a 5-2 record in 36.2 innings of work in which he struck out 15 batters. Offensively, the Honolulu, Hawaii native shares a team-high batting average of .382 in 41 games. He has102 at-bats in which he has produced 39 hits, including four doubles, two homeruns and a triple, for 24 RBIs and has drawn nine walks. Saito has scored 28 runs for the Violet and Gold and holds a .426 on-base percentage with a slugging percentage of .500.
Another two-time All-Region honoree is junior pitcher Nate Wehner who followed up a 2016 ABCA Third Team selection with an identical award this spring. The Bellevue, Wash. native took the ball 20 times this season, with 10 starts, for an 8-3 record with three saves. He holds a team-low 2.29 ERA over 94.1 innings of action thus far. Wehner has tossed a trio of complete games for the Kingsmen. The righty has struck out 64 batters for 6.11 strikeouts per nine innings. In the field, he has a perfect fielding percentage with 12 assists and five putouts.
A breakout season for starting second baseman Max Weinstein was rewarded with a D3baseball.com Third Team All-West Region selection. He was part of 28 double plays and recorded 112 assists with 67 putouts. The leadoff man currently paces the pack in at-bats (191), hits (73) and runs (35), and is second on the squad in RBIs (31), homeruns (4), triples (2), on base percentage (.427) and slugging percentage (.529). Weinstein has been a huge part of the CLU success this spring as he has moved into second and third in a single-season for hits and at-bats, respectively.
Finally, in his first and only season of play at CLU, Miguel Salud has been a staple out of the bullpen as the closer for the Kingsmen this spring. The Glendale, Calif. native has appeared in 29 games to tie for the top spot in a single-season at Cal Lutheran. Salud has thrown 43.0 innings, notching a 3-2 win-loss record while earning 11 saves, which now ranks him third all-time at CLU in a single-season and fourth in a career. The righty has struck out 36 batters for 7.53 strikeouts per nine innings and currently has a 3.77 ERA.
Gunter, Pautsch, Salud and Weinstein was each honored regionally for the first time of his career.
Cal Lutheran (35-10) won the NCAA Division III West Region championship last weekend in Tyler, Texas and the Kingsmen are headed to the 2017 College World Series in Appleton, Wis. with play scheduled to begin on Friday, May 26.
