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MENOMONIE (May 31, 2022) - The left side of UW-Stout's infield earned All-District honors by D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Tuesday. Shortstop
Charlie Szykowny and third baseman
Joel Thimsen were named to the honors teams. Szykowny as a first team selection by both organizations and Thimsen as a third team choice by both D3baseball and the ABCA. It was the first time for both players to be selected to the D3baseball team and the second consecutive year Szykowny was selected to the All-ABCA district team. Szykowny was a third team pick in 2021.
Szykowny was a 2022 first team all-WIAC selection and Thimsen was an honorable mention pick. The pair were the only Blue Devils to play and start in all 40 games this year. The two were either first or second on the team in at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles and RBI. Both served as team captains.
"These two leaders stepped up in a big way on and off the field," said Blue Devil coach
Ben Kincaid. "It's great to see their hard work paying off. Everyone sees and talks about the accomplishments, but no one talks about how hard they had to work before they got there. Charlie and Joel deserve all of the success coming their way."
This season, Szykowny broke the single season home run record with 18 home runs - breaking the mark of 15 by Ryan Freitag (2014) and Brad O'Connell (2001) - and set the single season record for runs batted in with 55, breaking John Filas' mark of 54 from 1989. Szykowny also tied the career record for triples, finishing his career with 10.
Szykowny finished 2022 hitting .398, (64-161) with 51 runs scored, 13 doubles, four triples and the 18 home runs for a slugging percentage of .864, second only to Brad Connell's .984.
During the regular season, Szykowny led the WIAC in home runs, slugging percentage and OPS (1.344). He was second in the league in batting average and on-base percentage (.481) and in the top five in: runs scored (fourth), hits (third), RBI (third) and triples (second). Nationally, Szykowny is currently sixth in home runs, fifth in home runs per game (.45), 27th in RBI per game (1.38) and fifth in slugging percentage.
Szykowny finished his career with a .385 batting average (150-390) with 123 runs scored, 37 doubles, 10 triples, 22 home runs with 96 RBI for a slugging percentage of .700.
The lanky, hard-throwing shortstop batted second in the line-up 29 times and hit third 11 times. Szykowny had multiple hit games 20 times out of a 40 game season, and twice recorded four hits in a game. Szykowny had 17 multiple RBI games, including a five RBI game against Ripon College, May 4, when he went 4 for 4 with four runs scored and two home runs. Szykowny had a 19-game hitting streak during the season and an on-base streak of 20 games.
Szykowny was one of the finalists for WIAC player of the year, a WIAC athlete of the week and earned honorable mention honors March 23 by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. After games from March 14-20, Szykowny batted .500 (16-for-32) with 16 RBI, scored 13 runs, punched out five home runs, and had five doubles. Szykowny hit a home run in five consecutive games last week and had six multi-hit outings, including a pair of two-hit games against fourth-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University. Went 4-for-6 with three RBI against Skidmore College (New York) on March 14, in what marked the first game of the home run streak. Hit a grand slam against Lasell University (Massachusetts). Szykowny posted a slugging percentage of 1.108 for the week.
Szykowny also took a few trips to the mound this year, making five appearances over 8.0 innings, including one start and fanned 14, finishing the season with a win and two saves.
Thimsen had a standout year, finishing with a batting average of .389 (58-149, fourth during the regular season in the WIAC), with 16 doubles (third in the WIAC), a triple, three home runs and 42 RBI (ninth in WIAC). Thimsen scored 39 runs.
Thimsen finished his career with 36 doubles, third on the all-time list, and his 16 doubles this year is third on the Stout single season list. His 42 RBI is 10th on the single season list. He wrapped up his five year career playing in 128 games and starting in 121, mostly at third, but also played some first base. This season Thimsen started 34 games at third base, five at first base and was the designated hitter in one game. He batted second in the order in six games, 23 games in the third slot and 11 as clean-up.
Thimsen also had a 19-game hitting streak and a 20-game on base streak. Thimsen had multiple hits in 19 games and had multiple RBI in 11 games, including six RBI against UW-Platteville, May 29, going 3 for 3 with three runs scored on a double and a home run. In that doubleheader, Thimsen batted 6 for 8.
The 2022 season marks the tenth year D3baseball.com has named All-Region teams, with more than 1,000 players nominated. The ballot was then made available to D3baseball.com staff and contributors from which three teams in each region were determined. For each of the 10 regions, there is a regional player of the year (a batter), a pitcher of the year, a rookie of the year (must be a freshman) and a coach of the year.
The ABCA All-America Team was first recognized in 1949 and now includes nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and High School. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 13,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth.
