ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford University baseball team had four players recognized Monday afternoon when the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference released its 2021 postseason awards. Pitcher/designated hitter Jared Herzog headlined the group with his NACC South Division Freshman of the Year selection. Herzog becomes just the third RU baseball player to be named the NACC Freshman of the Year (Jimmy Dercks, 2009 and Cole Logemann, 2013). Rockford also had a trio of players receive NACC South Division Honorable Mention status. Pitchers Christian Pearcy and Christian Dahlstrom and catcher Christian Garcia were all selected NACC Honorable Mention for the first time in their respective careers. Rockford's four NACC postseason awards are the most for the Regents since 2015.
Freshman pitcher and designated hitter Jared Herzog's performances both on the mound and at the plate earned him NACC South Division Freshman of the Year. By the end of the season, Herzog had worked his way into the top part of the Regents' pitching rotation. He concluded the year with a 2-1 record in six starts, a 3.65 earned run average and had 44 strikeouts (15th NACC) over 37.0 innings pitched. Offensively, he finished with a .301 batting average, a .415 on-base percentage and a .406 slugging percentage. Herzog also had 26 walks (2nd NACC), 10 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 21 RBIs.
Senior starting pitcher Christian Pearcy was voted NACC South Division Honorable Mention for the first time in his career. Pearcy was the ace of the Regents' pitching staff throughout the year and ended his season at or near the top of the conference in multiple pitching categories. He made ten starts (2nd NACC), including tossing two complete games (6th NACC), and led the Regents with 61.0 innings pitched (4th NACC). He also had 66 strikeouts (2nd NACC) and a 3.84 earned run average (10th NACC).
Senior catcher Christian Garcia was also selected NACC South Division Honorable Mention for the first time in his collegiate career. Garcia caught nearly every game and spent the entire year in the heart of the Regents' lineup. He finished his season with nine home runs (4th NACC), 40 runs batted in (12th NACC), six doubles, 21 runs scored, a .309 batting average, a .401 on-base percentage and a .547 slugging percentage. Garcia also provided one of the most memorable moments of the season, when he hit a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning against Lakeland.
Sophomore pitcher Christian Dahlstrom was named NACC South Division Honorable Mention for the first time in his career. Dahlstrom was primarily a relief pitcher this season, but also made a couple of spot starts, one of which was a complete game victory. He finished the year with a 6-3 record (2nd NACC) and had one save in his 18 appearances (3rd NACC). Dahlstrom also had 54 strikeouts (8th NACC) and a 3.79 earned run average (9th NACC) in 54.2 innings pitched (9th NACC).
