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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Baseball places four on All-WAC teams
5/24/2016 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
DENVER – After the conclusion of the 2016 season, the Grand Canyon baseball team earned four All-Conference honorees. Senior Paul Panaccione led the way, earning First Team All-WAC honors at shortstop. Joining him on the First Team All-WAC team is Garrison Schwartz as an at-large. The freshman duo of Austin Bull and Zach Malis were named All-WAC Second Team.
Panaccione did not disappoint in his final year wearing the purple and white, leading the team with a .363 batting average and a .521 slugging percentage. A .363 batting average was the fourth-highest average in the WAC this season. The senior from Liberty High School was second on the team with four home runs, including the only grand slam this season. A .473 on-base percentage was the best percentage in the conference this season. Panaccione was tied for the second-most RBIs on GCU's team with 26 despite missing 13 games due to injury. In GCU's three years at the Division I level, Panaccione hit .342 with 85 RBIs and eight home runs.
"Panaccione was hurt and didn't get a chance to play as much as he would like but I am appreciative to the WAC coaches for recognizing his talent," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "It is not often that a player can have an injury and still receive an award like that."
After an exceptional freshman year, Schwartz avoided a sophomore slump, earning first team honors as an at-large bid. The reigning WAC Freshman of the Year continued his tear through the conference, batting .307 with a team-high 37 RBIs and six home runs. Schwartz was a doubles machine this season, hitting the most doubles in the WAC this season with 19 along with the eighth-highest slugging percentage (.510) in the conference. When conference play rolled around, Schwartz delivered with some of his best play throughout the year. The sophomore from Desert Vista High School hit .373 in conference games, the fifth-highest average in conference along with the fifth-most hits with 38 in WAC games. Sixty-three totals bases was the third most in the WAC plus the sixth highest on-base percentage at .462 in conference.
"Garrison had another solid season and continues to impress us on the field," Stankiewicz added. "He performed well at the end of the season and is very underrated in the outfield so I am very proud of him."
In total, just three freshman earned WAC All-Conference recognition and two of them were from GCU in Bull and Malis. Bull stepped in right away, playing in 51 games, including 45 starts. Bull solidified his position in the lineup, starting primarily at second base and found himself at the top of the batting order, hitting in the two-spot batting .285 for the season with 51 hits, 20 RBIs and 34 runs. Bull made an impact in so many ways in his freshman year, with eight sacrifice bunts, the fourth-most in the WAC. Once on base, Bull took advantage on the base paths, stealing 11 bases, the second-most on GCU's squad this season.
In his first season playing Division I baseball, Malis was one of five GCU players to have a batting average over .300 this season, hitting .301 on the year with 27 runs, 24 RBIs and three home runs. A .426 slugging percentage was the fourth-highest percentage for GCU this season. GCU was the only school to have a freshmen earn WAC weekly honors this year, and Malis was one of them. On April 25, Malis earned WAC Hitter of the Week honors after posting three-multi hit games in a three-game sweep at North Dakota.
"To have two freshmen receive All-Conference honors is huge because it is hard to come out of high school and start the grind of being a Division I baseball player," Stankiewicz said when speaking about Bull and Malis. "They continued to get better every week and I am proud of that accomplishment for two great freshmen."
Panaccione did not disappoint in his final year wearing the purple and white, leading the team with a .363 batting average and a .521 slugging percentage. A .363 batting average was the fourth-highest average in the WAC this season. The senior from Liberty High School was second on the team with four home runs, including the only grand slam this season. A .473 on-base percentage was the best percentage in the conference this season. Panaccione was tied for the second-most RBIs on GCU's team with 26 despite missing 13 games due to injury. In GCU's three years at the Division I level, Panaccione hit .342 with 85 RBIs and eight home runs.
"Panaccione was hurt and didn't get a chance to play as much as he would like but I am appreciative to the WAC coaches for recognizing his talent," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "It is not often that a player can have an injury and still receive an award like that."
After an exceptional freshman year, Schwartz avoided a sophomore slump, earning first team honors as an at-large bid. The reigning WAC Freshman of the Year continued his tear through the conference, batting .307 with a team-high 37 RBIs and six home runs. Schwartz was a doubles machine this season, hitting the most doubles in the WAC this season with 19 along with the eighth-highest slugging percentage (.510) in the conference. When conference play rolled around, Schwartz delivered with some of his best play throughout the year. The sophomore from Desert Vista High School hit .373 in conference games, the fifth-highest average in conference along with the fifth-most hits with 38 in WAC games. Sixty-three totals bases was the third most in the WAC plus the sixth highest on-base percentage at .462 in conference.
"Garrison had another solid season and continues to impress us on the field," Stankiewicz added. "He performed well at the end of the season and is very underrated in the outfield so I am very proud of him."
In total, just three freshman earned WAC All-Conference recognition and two of them were from GCU in Bull and Malis. Bull stepped in right away, playing in 51 games, including 45 starts. Bull solidified his position in the lineup, starting primarily at second base and found himself at the top of the batting order, hitting in the two-spot batting .285 for the season with 51 hits, 20 RBIs and 34 runs. Bull made an impact in so many ways in his freshman year, with eight sacrifice bunts, the fourth-most in the WAC. Once on base, Bull took advantage on the base paths, stealing 11 bases, the second-most on GCU's squad this season.
In his first season playing Division I baseball, Malis was one of five GCU players to have a batting average over .300 this season, hitting .301 on the year with 27 runs, 24 RBIs and three home runs. A .426 slugging percentage was the fourth-highest percentage for GCU this season. GCU was the only school to have a freshmen earn WAC weekly honors this year, and Malis was one of them. On April 25, Malis earned WAC Hitter of the Week honors after posting three-multi hit games in a three-game sweep at North Dakota.
"To have two freshmen receive All-Conference honors is huge because it is hard to come out of high school and start the grind of being a Division I baseball player," Stankiewicz said when speaking about Bull and Malis. "They continued to get better every week and I am proud of that accomplishment for two great freshmen."
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