Five members of the Marshalltown Community College baseball team have been named to the NJCAA All-Region XI Division I Baseball team. The Tigers placed three players on the first-team, the most since the 2013 season.
A pair of sophomores- Luis Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Centro de Estudio Espaillat) and Tony Salato (Knoxville, IA/Knoxville) joined freshman Jose Mieses (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Prepara) on the All-Region XI First-Team. Diogen Ceballos (La Vega, Dominican Republic/Liceo la Romana) earned second-team honors for the second consecutive year while sophomore Juan Carlos Gonzalez (Piedra Blanca, Dominican Republic/Salome Urena de Henrriquez) was named to the honorable mention team.
One of the top hitters across the region the past two seasons, Duran received the most votes of any player named to the all-region team. Duran, who earned second-team honors as a freshman last year, ranked second in the league with a .413 batting average in 2017, just the third Tiger since 2008 to eclipse the .400 mark. The sophomore led the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with 10 home runs and 60 RBI on the year. Duran tied a school record with 76 hits on the season, joining Enmanuel Lopez (2016) and Ben Lott (2012). His 60 RBI set a new school record.
Salato wrapped up a solid two-year career for the Tigers with a .326 average with five home runs and 40 RBI. The sophomore started every game on the year and ranked second on the team with 83 total bases. An all-region infield selection, Salato split his time between first base and catcher where he led the ICCAC with 313 total chances and 279 putouts. His .981 fielding percentage led the Tigers.
Mieses emerged as the Tigers' starting shortstop early in the season. Mieses becomes just the fifth freshman to earn first-team honors in program history, joining Ty Russell (2013), Corey Ceponis (2013), Jeff Degano (2011), and TJ Werner (2009). Mieses joins William Salas (2013) as the only shortstop in school history to earn first-team recognition. In his rookie season, Mieses collected 61 hits with a .351 batting average while driving in 25 runs.
Ceballos was named to the second-team for the second consecutive year, this time as an outfielder. Ceballos was a primary pitcher for the first 17 games of the year before being inserted into the lineup with his bat. In his first at bat of the season, Ceballos belted a home run. The sophomore ranked second on the team with a .363 batting average and tallied three home runs to go along with 14 RBI and 17 runs scored.
Gonzalez had another strong year on the mound for the Tigers as the southpaw led the ICCAC in strikeouts for the second-straight year with 75 punchouts. The sophomore set the school record for most strikeouts with 154 for his career. Gonzalez, who was a second-team selection as a freshman, finished his career with 12 wins on the mound for the Tigers.
Five All-Region XI picks- four sophomores who finished great careers at MCC and a freshman with a bright future! Congrats to all https://t.co/dTBcucGW6i
— MCC Tiger Baseball (@MCCTigers_BB) May 16, 2017
