Six named All-OAC in Baseball for 2024
By Tim Glon
| 2024 All-OAC Baseball Teams (.pdf) |
ADA — Senior pitcher Noah Truax (Lewis Center/Bishop Watterson), junior catcher Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay) and sophomore first baseman Chase Armstrong (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) headline a list of six Ohio Northern players earning All-Ohio Athletic Conference recognition in baseball for the 2024 season in voting conducted by the league's head coaches.
Truax, Stechschulte and Armstrong were named to the All-OAC First Team.
Fifth-year senior pitcher Jack Hutchins (Bright, Ind./East Central), was named Second Team All-Conference.
Junior pitcher Blake Peterson (Belle Center/Ben Logan) and freshman third baseman Kyler Lapp (Hall, Ill.) received Honorable Mention All-OAC accolades.
This marks the second All-OAC honor for Stechschulte, Armstrong and Hutchins. Stechschulte and Hutchins were First Team selections in 2023 and Armstrong was a Second Team All-Conference pick a year ago.
Truax posted a 6-2 record and was third in the OAC with a 2.33 ERA and 65 strikeouts this season.
In 34 career appearances, Truax is 11-6 with a 3.12 ERA and 130 strikeouts. His 130 career strikeouts tie him for 20th all-time in ONU history.
Stechschulte hit .314 with a team-best 50 base hits, six home runs and 40 RBI.
Defensively, he posted a .985 fielding percentage and .447 caught-stealing percentage, throwing out 17 of 38 base-stealers.
In 86 career games at ONU, Stechschulte has a .275 batting average with 84 hits, including 19 doubles, to go with 46 RBIs and 51 runs scored.
Armstrong started 40 games at first base, finishing the season with a .288 batting average with team-highs of 15 doubles, 7 home runs, 44 RBI and a .561 slugging percentage.
His 44 RBI ranked him third in the OAC.
In 74 career games, Armstrong is batting .320 with 80 base hits, 70 RBI, 26 doubles and 17 home runs.
Hutchins finished the season with a tough-luck 3-5 record to go with a 3.04 ERA and was second in the OAC with 67 strikeouts.
In five years at ONU, Hutchins has a 13-8 career record with a 3.71 ERA and 142 strikeouts.
Peterson ranked second in the OAC with four saves to go with a 2-3 record, a 3.41 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
In three seasons as a Polar Bear, Peterson is 5-6 with a 5.23 ERA and 105 strikeouts. He currently ranks fourth all-time in ONU history with eight saves.
Lapp started all 41 games at third base and finished third on the team with a .329 batting average this season.
He also had 49 base hits, 14 doubles, four home runs, 25 RBI, a .530 slugging percentage and a .426 on-base percentage.
Under 13th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte, the Polar Bears finished 24-17 overall in 2024, finishing fourth in the OAC with an 11-7 league mark en route to earning their 21st all-time appearance in the OAC Tournament.