October 13, 2008
Hernandez & Johnson Earn Post Season Awards
(Rochester, MN) The Northwoods League has announced the recipients of the 2008 Rawlings Finest in the Field Award. The annual award recognizes the top fielders at each position.
The 2008 Northwoods League Champion Thunder Bay Border Cats had three players earn the award. The tandem of middle-infielders Connor Lind (Furman) at second base and Josh Ashenbrenner (Lewis-Clark) at shortstop combined to commit just 14 errors during Thunder Bay's championship season to allow each to have the top fielding percentage at their position. Border Cats left-handed pitcher Dan Zehr (Northeastern) not only led the NWL in earned run average but also had the most fielding opportunities on the mound without committing an error. Zehr and St. Cloud River Bats third baseman Brian Hernandez (Canyons) each were second-year NWL players that picked up their first Finest in the Field Award. Hernandez's River Bats teammate Kevin Johnson (Cincinnati) earned the award at first base. Battle Creek Bomber teammates Parker Berberet (Cypress) and Dusty Harvard (Oklahoma State) also claimed the hardware at catcher and outfielder, respectively. Curt Restko (Eastern Illinois) of Brainerd and Alex Sofranac (San Jose State) of Waterloo were perfect defensively in the outfield to earn the final two awards.
The winners are selected based on final official fielding statistics compiled by league statistician Sports Ticker, a Cheshire, Connecticut based sports statistical service company. The honorees receive a special Rawlings baseball glove mounted on an engraved trophy base. The 2008 Rawlings Finest in the Field Award recipients and their field percentages are below.
Catcher Parker Berberet - Battle Creek Bombers
CypressCollege, .990
First Base Kevin Johnson - St. Cloud River Bats
University of Cincinnati, .991
Second Base Connor Lind - Thunder Bay Border Cats
Furman University, .987
Third Base Brian Hernandez - St. Cloud River Bats
College of the Canyons, .949
Shortstop Josh Ashenbrenner - Thunder Bay Border Cats
Lewis-Clark State College, .969
Outfielder Curt Restko - Brainerd Blue Thunder
Eastern Illinois University, 1.000
Outfielder Alex Sofranac - Waterloo Bucks
San Jose State University, 1.000
Outfielder Dusty Harvard - Battle Creek Bombers
Oklahoma State University, .993
Pitcher Dan Zehr - Thunder Bay Border Cats
Northeastern University, 1.000
