Saginaw Valley State University senior Hayden Jatczak was named the Midwest Region Player of the Year and head coach Adam Piotrowicz the Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Jatczak was on the Midwest All-Region First Team as a designated hitter and was joined by teammate Colin Cornwell who made the First Team as an outfielder.
Jatczak adds the NCBWA Midwest Region Player of the Year after also being named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year. He is the first GLIAC Player of the Year from SVSU since 1993. He ranks top-five in all of NCAA DII in several categories including batting average (1st), doubles (1st), hits (1st), hits per game (1st), runs per game (2nd), runs (3rd), doubles per game (3rd), on-base percentage (3rd), total bases (3rd), and slugging percentage (5th). The Bay City, Michigan, native has broken single-season records this season in doubles with 26, RBI with 77, hits with 102, runs scored with 85, and home runs with 15. The two-time All-GLIAC honoree threw a no-hitter, the first confirmed no-hitter for SVSU since 1992, against Findlay early in the season.
"Hayden had a special season. He's one of the best hitters in this region, for any level of college baseball," said Piotrowicz. "The most impressive part of this season is the consistency he showed on and off the field. It didn't matter the opponent, score, or type of pitcher he faced…He always came to the field with a calm, consistent approach and it's good to see him rewarded for the work he's put in."
Adam Piotrowicz adds his second Coach of the Year award with the NCBWA award. He made history as the first Cardinal skipper to earn the GLIAC Coach of the Year award. Piotrowicz led SVSU to a 36-13 overall record in the regular season. It is the first 30+ win season since 2008. The team experienced a historical season highlighted by earning the first outright conference regular season championship since 2002 and hosting the first NCAA Division II Baseball Midwest Regional in program history. Piotrowicz coached the NCBWA and GLIAC Player of the Year Hayden Jatczak to a career-best season as he shattered multiple career and single-season records. The Cardinals are top-ten in the country in batting average (5th), triples (5th), sacrifice flies (6th), and triples per game (9th).
"We have a coaching staff that puts a lot of time and effort into developing players and our culture," stated Piotrowicz. "It's never just one player, one coach, or one specific thing that leads to success. It takes everyone being bought into something bigger and I'm fortunate to be around a lot of great people"
Cornwell was a first-team All-GLIAC selection and finished the regular season with the second-best batting average in the GLIAC. He boasts career-highs in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, walks, and batting average this season. Cornwell recorded 25 multi-hit games with six games of three hits and two with four.
"Corn is one of the most complete hitters in the region at any level," said Piotrowicz. "He's disciplined, not afraid to hit with 2 strikes, has the combination of power and bat-to-ball skills that very few people have. He's one of the toughest outs in the league and protected the top of our lineup. He's another guy that has produced in big situations all year for us and we expect him to have even bigger RBIs for us in the postseason!"