Although the 2014 Blackburn Baseball team did not meet the team standards, four players had very successful seasons individually. Matt Mokriakow, Donny Fuhrhop, Vinnie Birk, and Aaron Moody were all named to a 2014 SLIAC All-Conference team.
Mokriakow, a sophomore right fielder from Glen Carbon, Illinois, had an outstanding season at the plate. He earned his spot as a First Team All-SLIAC Outfielder by hitting an impressive .395 while slugging .586 Hitting for extra bases was a huge part of the season for the Beaver cleanup man as he smacked 15 doubles, one triple, and four homers. His 60 total hits were most for a player whose team failed to make the conference tournament. Mokriakow also drove in 42 runs, which tied for third in the conference. The durable outfielder wasn't only impactful on offense because he played every single game in right field while also gunning down six baserunners.
Senior Donny Fuhrhop (St. Jacob, Ill.) earned Second-Team All-SLIAC honors as the designated hitter just one year after he won the SLIAC Player of the Year. Battling through injury all season, Fuhrhop still managed to play in 24 games while hitting at a .405 clip. In those games he was still a force to be reckoned with. He slugged three homers, drove in 18 runs, and stole eight bases out of the three hole.
Junior leadoff man Vinnie Birk (Swansea, Ill.) earned a spot on the Second Team All-SLIAC as a utility. Birk learned two new positions this year (1B and CF) and showed his versatility by doing so. In three years, Birk has started at least 7 games at six of the nine positions in his three-year career which is clearly the definition of utility man. He hit .361 with an on-base percentage of .432 and scored 23 runs. His 39 hits were good for third on the team. Birk also pitched 31 innings and and struck out 21 batters which gave him a 6.21 K/game mark, a team-high.
Blackburn's sophomore second sacker Aaron Moody (Navarino, Wisc.) also earned Second-Team All-SLIAC honors. Moody spent much of the season as the second leadoff man by hitting out of the nine spot, but he had a knack for driving in runs. He had 32 RBI which was tied for 11th overall but second in terms of second basemen. Moody had 45 hits, good for a .321 average, with nine extra-base hits including his first collegiate home run. He also improved greatly on the defensive side of the ball and turned ten double plays as a result.
Also, sophomore pitcher Tyler Gosnell (DeKalb, Ill.) represents Blackburn onn the 2014 All-Sportsmanship Team.