• 6 World Series Berths
  • 15 UAA Championships
  • 11 ABCA All-Americans
  • 4 D3Baseball.com All-Americans

2009 Emory Baseball Season Recap

2009 Emory Baseball Season Recap

The Emory University baseball team completed its 18th-consecutive winning season in 2009, finishing the campaign with a 24-18 record. 

Emory's Steve Bralver was named the Most Valuable Player of the University Athletic Association (UAA), finishing the year batting .375 with a team-best seven home runs and 61 RBIs, the second-best total in school history.  Joining Bralver on the all-UAA team was first-team senior outfielder David Hissey, and second-team members sophomore shortstop Andrew Cohn, junior closer Zeb Heidt, and junior outfielder Dan Molnar.

At the end of the season, Hissey and Heidt were also selected to the All-South Region second team, while Bralver was a third-team selection.

The Eagles finished second at the annual UAA Tournament with a 3-3 record in conference play, marking the first year the Eagles have not won the tournament since 2005.  Bralver and Molnar were named to the all-tournament team for their performances during the six-game round robin.

Although the Eagles missed the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year, the season included a number of individual highlights for members of the team.  Emory head coach Mike Twardoski, in his 10th season at the team's helm, won his 300th career game with a 12-2 win over Rhodes College on February 28th.  Twardoski finished the season with a 318-128-1 career record, good for a .713 winning percentage.

Hissey broke the school record for career stolen bases and recorded his 200th-career hit on March 11th against Washington University (Mo.), finishing the season with 113 swipes during his four-year career.  He finished the season with a .369 batting average, 30 runs batted in and 37 stolen bases, the third-most in Division III.  After ending his career second in school history with 180 runs scored and third with 237 hits, Hissey was drafted by his hometown Philadelphia Phillies in the 50th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Molnar set a school record with 49 walks, ranking him third among all Division III players.  He finished the year with a .319 batting average, three home runs and a .492 on base percentage.

The following Eagles earned honors during the 2009 season:

All-South Region (ABCA)

Zeb Heidt

Chatsworth, GA (Murray County)

Pitcher

Second Team

David Hissey

West Chester, PA (Unionville)

Outfield

Second Team

Steve Bralver

Honolulu, HI (Westlake)

First Base

Third Team

UAA Most Valuable Player

Steve Bralver

Honolulu, HI (Westlake)

First Base

All-UAA

 

 

 

Steve Bralver

Honolulu, HI (Westlake)

First Base

First Team

David Hissey

West Chester, PA (Unionville)

Outfield

First Team

Andrew Cohn

Marietta, GA (Alan C. Pope)

Shortstop

Second Team

Zeb Heidt

Chatsworth, GA (Murray County)

Pitcher

Second Team

Dan Molnar

Long Grove, IL (Adlai E. Stevenson)

Outfield

Second Team

All-UAA Tournament

Steve Bralver

Honolulu, HI (Westlake)

First Base

Dan Molnar

Long Grove, IL (Adlai E. Stevenson)

Outfield

CoSIDA Academic All-District

Andrew Cohn

Marietta, GA (Alan C. Pope)

Shortstop

First Team

Matt Ryckman

Tampa, FL (Berkeley Prep)

Pitcher

Second Team

Jewish Sports Review All-America

Steve Bralver

Honolulu, HI (Westlake)

First Base

First Team

Andrew Cohn

Marietta, GA (Alan C. Pope)

Shortstop

Honorable Mention

Dan Molnar

Long Grove, IL (Adlai E. Stevenson)

Outfield

Honorable Mention