The All-MAC Second Team members are Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy), Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton), and Adam Brouwer (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois-Springfield). At second base, Erato was also selected to the All-Defensive Team. Since 2016, NIU has not had three All-MAC Selections until now.
Head coach Ryan Copeland stated of Eric, Colin, and Adam, “I am very proud of them for earning All-MAC honors.” “They performed at a high level throughout the season and the head coaches in our league recognized it.”
Summerhill broke the previous record of 15 home runs set in 2003 and set the NIU single-season record with 19, earning his first career playoff accolade. With 65 runs batted in and four home runs, the senior catcher led the MAC. His 65 RBI are the second-most in NIU history for a single season. In his first 13 games of the season, Summerhill hit seven home runs. Summerhill scored a career-high six runs on April 9th with a grand slam and a two-run home drive. He had four games with multiple home runs. After that game, he hit a home run in five straight games, capping the run on April 19 against Kent State with his career-high 16th home run.
This season, Erato’s batting average of.330, on-base percentage of.448 and 52 runs scored set career highs. With 39 walks, he was tied for fourth place in the MAC. From March 8 to April 6, Erato touched base in 17 successive games. By the end of the season, he had reached base in 21 straight games. On March 26, he scored four runs, a season high, in NIU’s 17-8 victory over Northwestern. Erato’s game-winning three-run home run on May 11th helped the Huskies defeat Western Michigan 4-3. Erato split his time between second base and the outfield in the field, making just one mistake.
This season, Brouwer finished second on the team with 73.1 innings pitched and 55 strikeouts, leading the NIU pitching staff with seven victories. The Ball State pitcher Merritt Beeker, who was awarded Pitcher of the Year, and the redshirt sophomore were the only two pitchers in the MAC to win seven league games this season. Eight of Brouwer’s ten conference starts came with an earned run total of no more than three. On March 17 at Akron, he pitched six innings and struck out a season-high seven batters while giving up one run on two hits. On March 24, Brouwer pitched seven scoreless innings against Miami, walking just two and striking out five as NIU prevailed 1-0.
With a 21-33 record at the end of the season, the Huskies improved their conference record by nine wins, or 11 wins, from 2023 to 14-16.
All-MAC Teams & MAC Baseball Postseason Awards for 2024
Ball State Freshman Player of the Year: Garrett Wright, Bowling Green Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Keegan Johnson, Ball State Coach of the Year: Kyle Hallock, Bowling Green Player of the Year: Nathan Archer, Bowling Green Pitcher of the Year: Merritt Beeker, Ball State Defensive Player of the Year: Michael Hallquist
All-MAC First Team: Western Michigan’s Cade Sullivan at first base and Bowling Green’s Garrett Wright at center.
3B: Ryland Zaborowski, Miami; SS: Michael Hallquist, Ball State; 2B: Sam Seidel, Bowling Green
Nathan Archer of Bowling Green and Zach MacDonald of Miami are the OFs.
OF: Toledo’s Garret Pike
Josh Johnson, Kent State; CJ Richmond, Western Michigan; SP-Jared Schaeffer, Akron; OF-Keegan Johnson, Ball State; SP-Calvin Bickerstaff, Kent State; DH-Grant Umberger, Toledo; RP-Carson Byers, Miami
Completely Mac Hunter Dobbins from Ball State and Collin Summerhill from Northern Illinois make up Second Team C
1B: Ball State’s Blake Bevis 2B: Northern Illinois’ Eric Erato
Tyler Ross, second base; Leighton Banjoff, third base; Jack Krause, second base; Jacob Donahue, third base; Central Michigan
OF: Dylan Nevar, Western Michigan; OF: Gideon Antle, Ohio
DH: DJ Newman, Eastern Michigan; Bowling Green SP: Bobby Jones; Bowling Green SP: Nic Good
RP – Jacob Tabor, Toledo; SP – Adam Brouwer, Northern Illinois; SP – Nolan Vlcek, Western Michigan
Completely Defensive Bowling Green’s Garrett Wright is on Team C
1B: Western Michigan’s Cade Sullivan
Eric Erato (2B) of Northern Illinois
SS: Ball State’s Michael Hallquist; Ohio’s JR Nelson
3B — Central Michigan, Ely Stuart
Nathan Archer of Bowling Green, Zach MacDonald of Miami, and Garret Pike of Toledo are the OFs.
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