ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Illinois State baseball's freshman Daniel Pacella and third-year junior Auggie Rasmussen were both honored in the release of the All-Missouri Valley Conference baseball teams, announced by the conference Monday night (full list of teams/honorees in attached PDF).
Pacella was named Honorable Mention All-MVC and received a vote for Freshman of the Year while Rasmussen was named to the All-Defensive Team. The conference's 10 head coaches were polled and not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Pacella, a Mundelein, Ill. native, hit .307 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. Pacella played in all 50 games, making 49 starts. Pacella had a pair of two-homer games to go with a pair of grand slams. Pacella broke the freshman RBIs record set by Frank Mustari in 1985 and tied Mustari's freshman record home run record.
Rasmussen, a Blair, Neb. native, recorded 130 putouts and two assists to earn MVC All-Defensive team honors in his first year as a Redbird after transferring from Iowa Western. Rasmussen, who primarily played center field after starting the year in right field, also had a stellar year at the plate.
Through May 21, Rasmussen is one of just eight players in the country with a .300+ batting average, 10+ home runs, 29+ extra-base hits, and 25+ stolen bases.
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