CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams
WINONA, Minn. — A year ago, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's
Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) earned a spot on CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America Teams.
And for the second year in a row, Buerkle's successes on the field—and in the classroom did not go unnoticed, as he was once again named Academic All-District, it was announced Thursday.
This time around, however, the Cardinal junior has plenty of company.
Joining Buerkle on the Academic All-District 6 First Team are outfielder
Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) and pitcher
Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.).
Doll has been the Cardinals' offensive sparkplug this season, leading the team in batting average (.445), at-bats (137), runs (39), hits (61), total bases (86), slugging percentage (.628), and on-base percentage (.533). The senior, who has played in all 150 games during his four-year collegiate career—including 149 starts—heads into his final two regular-season games as the Cardinals' all-time career leader in at-bats (568), runs (141), hits (211), doubles (41), total bases (304), and stolen bases (80).
Like Doll, Buerkle has been opposing pitchers' worst nightmare this season, compiling a .378 batting average—second only to Doll's .445)—while leading the team in doubles (13), triples (4), and walks (32). Buerkle has reached base safely in 36 of the Cardinals' 37 contests—including hits in 32 of those 37 games—and has been held off the base paths just three times in 112 career contests.
While Doll and Buerkle have been doing their talking with their bats, Mathwig has been doing his with his arm.
The sophomore left-hander has enjoyed a break-out season in 2016, compiling a 5-0 record—not to mention a team-high six saves—and a microscopic 0.96 ERA. Mathwig has made a team-best 16 pitching appearances, allowing just three earned runs in 28.0 innings.
Buerkle, Doll, and Mathwig are three of seven players from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selected to the Academic All-District 6 Team. The trio are joined by Logan Hershey of Saint John's, Jordan Zoellmer of Carleton, Gustavus' Josh Chatfield, and Tim Carlson of Concordia.
The CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, formerly known as the Capital One Academic All-District Team, is the most prestigious student-athlete academic award in the nation. With their selection to the All-District 6 Team, Buerkle, Doll, and Mathwig are now placed on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, with first-, second-, and third-team selections made later this month.
