Central Michigan University Athletics
Jaksa Named MAC Coach of the Year
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
AVON, Ohio -- Central Michigan's Steve Jaksa was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year and eight Chippewas received all-conference honors Tuesday on the eve of the league tournament at All Pro Freight Stadium.
The tournament begins Wednesday. CMU, the regular-season champion and the No. 1 seed, plays eighth-seeded Akron at 4:30 p.m.
Jaksa guided the Chippewas to a 35-20 regular-season record and their first MAC title since 2010. It marks the second time that Jaksa has been named the league coach of the year. He first received the honor in 2004.
"There's a lot of pride in the things that we do in the program and (the award is) one of those things that is a result of all the hard work that everybody has done, the players, the staff and yeah, I'd throw my name in there," said Jaksa, who is in his 13th year as CMU's coach. "We all work hard together to try to achieve the goal.
"I think my players and my staff know that I'm certainly appreciative of all their effort or we wouldn't be here collectively as a group."
CMU's Pat MacKenzie, Sean Renzi and Daniel Jipping were named to the All-MAC First Team, while Zach McKinstry, Logan Regnier and Tim Black earned spots on the second team. MacKenzie, Joe Houlihan and Nick Deeg were named to the All-Defensive Team.
MacKenzie, a senior who has started all 55 of CMU's games at second base, leads the Chippewas and ranks fourth in the MAC with a .353 batting average (71-for-201).
He also leads the league in on-base percentage (.489), runs (59) and walks (49), and his 24 stolen bases are a team high and rank fourth in the conference. His 71 hits tie him for third in the league.
MacKenzie, who has made just five errors on the season, has posted a .983 fielding percentage.
Renzi, a junior right-hander, emerged as the ace of the Chippewas' pitching staff after starting the season in the bullpen.
He is 5-1 with a 2.17 earned run average, which is third-best in the conference. He is holding opposing hitters to a .174 batting average. Since becoming a starter on April 11, Renzi is 5-0 in six starts with a 1.87 ERA.
Jipping, a freshman, was named to the All-MAC First Team as a designated hitter. He leads the Chippewas with six home runs and ranks second on the team with 39 RBI and a .458 slugging percentage. His RBI total is tied for sixth in the league.
McKinstry, also a freshman, has started 54 games at shortstop, and compiled a .315 average with 19 RBI, and a .362 slugging percentage.
Regnier, a junior outfielder, is the Chippewas' second-leading hitter at .321 and leads the MAC with seven triples and leads the team and ranks second in the league with 45 RBI. Regnier's seven triples rank 12 nationally, and he enters the MAC Tournament with 16 career triples, which puts him second on CMU's career list. It is the second consecutive year that Regnier has earned all-conference second team honors.
Black, a senior right-handed closer, ranks second in the MAC with 11 saves and is CMU's career-leader with 20. Black has appeared in 23 games this season and is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA. He has allowed nine earned runs, struck out 24, and walked 10 in 31 1/3 innings.
Black was a first team selection last season.
Deeg, a sophomore left-hander, is 8-4 with a 2.89 ERA. He has struck out 50, walked 26 and allowed 80 hits in 84 innings. His eight wins tie him for most in the league, and he ranks seventh in ERA.
Houlihan, a junior third baseman, is hitting .269 with five home runs, 35 RBI and a .401 slugging percentage. He has made nine errors on the season and carries a .942 fielding percentage.
Jaksa, who has led CMU to nine 30-win campaigns during his tenure, brings a 423-324-1 career record into the MAC tournament. He has guided CMU to three MAC regular-season titles and five MAC West championships.
The Chippewas were presented with trophies for their regular-season MAC and West Division titles by league commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher during a ceremony at home plate at All Pro Freight Stadium.
"We've been a solid team all year," Jaksa said. "I think it's a credit to all the guys who got something and as I told them, and I mean it, the result is those big (team) trophies and that's how our team plays. There were a few guys who didn't get some things, but that's life. That's not going to be the worse thing that ever happens to them.
"That's one thing I talked to the players about on the bus: `Hey, there's going to be some awards given out tonight. I don't know who's going to get them, but remember, it's a team that we're looking at and we've got another goal of what we want to accomplish this week and understand that we can't control all the votes.'"
The teams were selected in a vote of league coaches.
Mitch Longo, a sophomore outfielder from Ohio, was named the Player of the Year; Ohio right-hander Logan Cozart received the Pitcher of the Year Award; Toledo outfielder A.J. Montoya was named the Freshman of the Year; Zac Carey, a right-hander from Bowling Green, was named the Freshman Pitcher of the Year; and Deion Tansel, a shortstop from Toledo, earned the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
