TicketsCINCINNATI – Five University of Cincinnati baseball student-athletes earned All-American Athletic Conference honors Monday as the league announced its postseason awards ahead of the AAC Tournament in Clearwater, Florida this week.
Outfielder Paul Komistek and pitcher Garrett Schoenle earned first-team accolades while shortstop Joey Bellini, second baseman Jace Mercer and designated hitter Griffin Merritt were tabbed for second-team honors.
UC's five honorees are the most since joining the AAC in 2014. Cincinnati finished the regular season at 29-24, 18-14 in AAC play giving their Bearcats an over .500 finish in regular-season games for the first time since 2011.
Bellini started 51 games at shortstop, teaming with Mercer to help UC lead the AAC with double plays. Bellini batted .311 in AAC games and finished with 66 hits including 11 doubles, a triple and three home runs.
Komistek led the team with a .353 batting average, including 54 hits, 10 doubles, seven home runs, 21 walks and 39 RBIs. He belted five of his homers in league play and scored 28 runs.
Mercer hit .352 on the year and .391 in AAC play. His 22 stolen bases were the most on the team. He led the team in slugging percentage (.563), total bases (112), hits (70) and tied for the team lead in walks (26). He also teamed with Bellini to help UC lead the American in double plays (49).
Merritt tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and compiled a .278 average with 50 hits, including 10 doubles and two triples. He walked 22 times and stole five bases.
Schoenle finished the regular season at 6-3 with a 3.97 earned run average. He was named AAC Pitcher of the Week on April 26 and earned AAC Honor Roll on three occasions. He made 14 starts, throwing 70.1 innings with 82 strikeouts over 22 walks. He threw his first career complete game in a win at Houston on May 7.
2021 AAC BASEBALL AWARDS
FIRST-TEAM ALL-AAC
• Garrett Schoenle, Sr., SP
• Paul Komistek, Jr., OF
SECOND-TEAM ALL-AAC
• Jace Mercer, Gr., 2B
• Joey Bellini, Gr., SS
• Griffin Merritt, Jr., DH
UP NEXT
The Bearcats earned the No. 4 seed in next week's AAC Tournament and will face No. 5 UCF at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida. The teams will meet at BayCare Ballpark in a game televised by ESPN+ with live stats on BearcatStats.com.
TUESDAY, MAY 25 | ESPN+
Game 1: No. 5 UCF vs. No. 4 Cincinnati | 9 a.m. ET
Game 2: No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 1 East Carolina | 47 minutes following Game 1
Game 3: No. 7 Houston vs. No. 2 Tulane | 4 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 6 South Florida vs. No. 3 Wichita State | 47 minutes following Game 2
Visit AAC Baseball Championship Central for more information.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati baseball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow UC baseball (@GoBearcatsBase) and Coach Googins (@CoachGoogs) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
Outfielder Paul Komistek and pitcher Garrett Schoenle earned first-team accolades while shortstop Joey Bellini, second baseman Jace Mercer and designated hitter Griffin Merritt were tabbed for second-team honors.
UC's five honorees are the most since joining the AAC in 2014. Cincinnati finished the regular season at 29-24, 18-14 in AAC play giving their Bearcats an over .500 finish in regular-season games for the first time since 2011.
Bellini started 51 games at shortstop, teaming with Mercer to help UC lead the AAC with double plays. Bellini batted .311 in AAC games and finished with 66 hits including 11 doubles, a triple and three home runs.
Komistek led the team with a .353 batting average, including 54 hits, 10 doubles, seven home runs, 21 walks and 39 RBIs. He belted five of his homers in league play and scored 28 runs.
Mercer hit .352 on the year and .391 in AAC play. His 22 stolen bases were the most on the team. He led the team in slugging percentage (.563), total bases (112), hits (70) and tied for the team lead in walks (26). He also teamed with Bellini to help UC lead the American in double plays (49).
Merritt tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and compiled a .278 average with 50 hits, including 10 doubles and two triples. He walked 22 times and stole five bases.
Schoenle finished the regular season at 6-3 with a 3.97 earned run average. He was named AAC Pitcher of the Week on April 26 and earned AAC Honor Roll on three occasions. He made 14 starts, throwing 70.1 innings with 82 strikeouts over 22 walks. He threw his first career complete game in a win at Houston on May 7.
2021 AAC BASEBALL AWARDS
FIRST-TEAM ALL-AAC
• Garrett Schoenle, Sr., SP
• Paul Komistek, Jr., OF
SECOND-TEAM ALL-AAC
• Jace Mercer, Gr., 2B
• Joey Bellini, Gr., SS
• Griffin Merritt, Jr., DH
UP NEXT
The Bearcats earned the No. 4 seed in next week's AAC Tournament and will face No. 5 UCF at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida. The teams will meet at BayCare Ballpark in a game televised by ESPN+ with live stats on BearcatStats.com.
TUESDAY, MAY 25 | ESPN+
Game 1: No. 5 UCF vs. No. 4 Cincinnati | 9 a.m. ET
Game 2: No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 1 East Carolina | 47 minutes following Game 1
Game 3: No. 7 Houston vs. No. 2 Tulane | 4 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 6 South Florida vs. No. 3 Wichita State | 47 minutes following Game 2
Visit AAC Baseball Championship Central for more information.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati baseball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow UC baseball (@GoBearcatsBase) and Coach Googins (@CoachGoogs) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.