DALLAS, Texas – Illinois State junior shortstop Owen Miller was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, as three others were also honored with postseason awards, announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.
Along with Miller, sophomore outfielder John Rave was named Second Team All-Conference, senior catcher Collin Braithwaite was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention squad, while Rave and sophomore pitcher Brent Headrick were named to the All-Defensive Team.
Miller, a native of Fredonia, Wisconsin, led the team and finished second in the conference in batting average, hitting .387 during the regular season. He recently set the school's single-season hits record as he has 86 on the season. He is second on the team in slugging percentage (.527), on-base percentage (.435) and runs scored (44). He has hit 14 doubles with five home runs and a triple, while driving home 32. Miller also has a season fielding percentage of .971 with just five errors in 174 chances. Miller becomes the 46th student-athlete in program history to be name First Team All-Conference.
Rave, a native of Bloomington, Illinois, is second on the Redbirds and fourth in the MVC in batting average, hitting .348 on the year. He leads the team with 46 runs, 18 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, and 48 RBI's. He is third in the Conference in total bases (118), fourth in hits, runs scored, and doubles, fifth in RBI's. He has committed just two errors in 112 chances in center field en route to his second consecutive All-Defensive Team honor.
Braithwaite, a native of Queen Creek, Arizona, has the second-most doubles, home runs, and RBI's on the team, while pacing the Redbirds with 29 walks. He is batting .287 on the year, and is one of two players on the team (along with Rave) with 40+ runs scored and 40+ RBI's. He had two home runs in the most recent series against Evansville.
Headrick, from Custer Park, Illinois, had no errors in 18 chances in the field. On the mound, he finished with a 4-6 record with 56 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work. Opponents batted .284 against him, as he also led the team with two pickoffs.
The Redbirds, 22-28 after the regular season and 9-12 in Conference play, open play in the MVC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon as the No. 6 seed. The squad will face off against the Bradley Braves in the 4 p.m. game in Dallas, Texas in Horner Ballpark, home of the Dallas Baptist Patriots.
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