Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist Baseball program swept the 2023 Heart of America Conference Superlative Awards, and landed nine different Eagles on Heart All-Conference teams.
Senior shortstop Robbie Merced was named the Heart Player of the Year for the second straight season, while Alan West was tabbed as the Heart Pitcher of the Year. Head Coach Nate Breland was also named the Heart Coach of the Year for the second time in the last three seasons.
So far this season, Merced has appeared in 51 games as Central's starting shortstop. The 2023 First Team All-Conference selection recorded a .384 batting average on 71 hits including a team leading 15 doubles along with five triples and eight home runs. In addition, Merced has driven in 41 runs and stolen 16 bases. He was also named to the Heart Gold Glove team for his play at short.
West joined Merced as a First Team All-Conference selection, however, as both a pitcher and outfielder. On the bump, he has compiled a 9-2 overall record and a 2.99 earned run average. Through 81.1 innings to date, West has tallied 103 total strikeouts and seven complete games. He also threw just the second no-hitter in program history against Benedictine College on April 2.
As an outfielder, West led the team with a .412 batting average and seven triples. To date, he has driven in 34 runners on 68 hits, while also tallying nine doubles and eight home runs.
Breland was named the Coach of the Year after earning honors in 2021. This season, the Eagles won the Heart Baseball Regular Season title outright with a conference record of 23-7. CMU went 33-15 overall in the regular season and earned the No. 1 seed in the Heart Baseball Conference Tournament in Ozark, Mo.
Tanner Sears was named to the Heart All-Conference First Team as a DH. The sophomore from Higginsville, Mo. batted .378 on 54 hits, which included 11 doubles and 11 home runs. He also leads the Eagles with 58 RBI.
Joseph Weatherford was the final Eagle to earn Heart All-Conference First Team honors for Central. The junior transfer from Lyon College finished second on the team with 14 doubles while driving in 39 runs on 47 hits. He also recorded three home runs and drew 15 walks.
Jeremy Conforti, Sebastian Escobar, Clayton Burke, and Bobby Nichols all landed on the second team.
Conforti appeared in 50 games as Central's primary first baseman in 2023. Conforti batted .381 and finished third on the team with 67 hits. In addition, the sophomore tied for the team lead with 15 doubles and also recorded two triples and nine home runs. Altogether, Conforti drove in 51 runners and drew 10 walks.
Escobar posted an 8-3 record through 12 starts in 2023. He recorded a 2.82 earned run average through 70.1 innings of work and tallied 80 strikeouts to finish second on the team. Escboar also tossed four complete games.
Burke matched Escobar with an 8-3 record through 12 starts and 15 appearances. Through 68.2 innings, Burke recorded a 3.54 earned run average and struck out 69 batters.
As Central's primary centerfielder, Nichols batted .330 on 58 hits including nine doubles and a triple. He drove in 25 RBI and led the team with 29 stolen bases. In addition, Nichols landed on the Heart Gold Glove team for his play in the outfield. The junior committed only one error through 51 games played so far this season.
Junior catcher Logan Doody joined Merced and Nichols as Heart Gold Glove selections. The native of Slidell, La. has committed just two errors in 38 games to date while recording 280 total put outs behind the plate.
To view the complete list of this year's 2023 Heart Baseball All-Conference and Gold Glove teams, please click here.
#TakeFlight
