We’re a month removed from the NJCAA Division II World Series that took place at David Allen Memorial Ballpark. During that week, we got to watch some of the greatest in the junior college baseball world battle it out for the title. In the end, Heartland Community College ended up taking home their first World Series title in school history. Now, a month later, the NJCAA came out today and announced the player of the year, defensive player of the year, and the pitcher of the year for the 2023 season and every one of those players were at David Allen last month.
Player of the Year
The Player of the Year in the 2023 NJCAA Division II baseball season was a no brainer as it was awarded to Heartland (IL) infielder Sam Antonacci. Antonacci has already won a number of post season awards as he was already named NJCAA DII Baseball ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, NJCAA First-Team All-American, and the Region 24 Player of the Year. We saw why as it was his leadership that helped Heartland win their first World Series title in school history. In 62 games this season, Antonacci had a ridiculous .515 batting average with 14 home runs, and 103 RBIs! On top of that, Antonacci had 106 hits, 105 runs scored, 32 doubles, 48 walks, a .618 on-base percentage, and a .903 slugging percentage. These are video game type numbers! When’s the last time you’ve heard of even a Division 1 college player putting up numbers like that? Antonacci has a very bright future in the game of baseball. Expect to hear his name called in next month’s MLB draft. And even if he decides not to go to the majors just yet, Antonacci has already committed to playing the rest of his college career at on the college baseball’s better teams, Coastal Carolina (who just finished the regular season ranked #9 in the polls.
Defensive Player of the Year
The Defensive Player of the Year in the 2023 NJCAA Division II baseball season went to Southeastern (IA) shortstop Jose Sallorin. Sallorin also was pretty good with a bat in his hand but it was his defensive abilities that caught everyone’s attention. In 63 games played this season, Sallorin had a total of 239 chances and committed just 6 errors. Sallorin’s fielding percentage on the season was .975 which is one of the higher marks this season for someone getting that many chances in the infield. Sallorin helped lead the Blackhawks of Southeastern to the NJCAA Championship game where they eventually lost to Heartland 8-6. Sallorin also has a bright future ahead of him as he will make his way to Shreveport where he will play at LSU-Shreveport the remainder of his college career.
Pitcher of the Year
The Pitcher of the Year in 2023 in the 2023 NJCAA Division II Baseball season went to Lansing (MI) LHP Hunter Shaw. Shaw in his freshman campaign was very impressive. In 14 appearances this season (11 of those being starts), Shaw amassed a 9-2 record with a ridiculous 1.58 ERA over 62.2 innings pitched. In those 62.2 innings pitched, Shaw gave up just 19 runs (only 11 of them were earned) and just 18 walks. Shaw picked up 88 strikeouts on the year which made his K/9 ratio a 12.64. During the year, there were 3 instances where he picked up 10 strikeouts in a game! Shaw was the ace of a Lansing team that made it 1 win shy of a trip to the championship game before the Stars ended up losing to Southeastern. Shaw also has D1 baseball in his future as he will make his way to Columbus, Ohio to play for Ohio State.
