Marion County College Report

Centralia grad Cody Stevenson
named SLIAC Newcomer of the Year

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Daniel L. Chamness

Marilyn Monroe once famously said "stastistics lie." In Cody Stevenson's case, statistics simply show how great a freshman year he had.

The coaches in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Conference selected four freshmen to be on the SLIAC's first team. Stevenson, a Webster University freshman, played for the best team in the league and clearly proved himself as the best of the four to earn the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year award. '

"I was shocked, because those other freshmen all had great years also," the Centralia grad said. "I actually thought they may give the honor to a junior who came over from a junior college. This really opened my eyes and pumped me up for the future."

The recent past was great to Stevenson. In his 139 trips to the plate, he had 50 hits for a robust batting average of .360. Of his hits, 10 were doubles, two were triples and three were homers. Stevenson used his keen batting eye and his speed to his advantage as he led the team in runs scored (53) and stolen bases (27). He also drove home 30 runs and walked 20 times.

Stevenson was one of two Webster players selected to the first team. Five more were selected to the second team, and still five more were named to the honorable mention team. Webster won the regular season and the tournament title as well. They finished 35-11 and earned the SLIAC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. They were 21-3 in the SLIAC. ...

Former Centralia High baseball player Brian Dinkelman was 2-for-5 to help the Rochester Red Wings defeated the Norfolk Tides, the Class AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Dinkelman smacked a double, scored two and drove home one. Rochester is 19-31through 50 games to rank fifth in the International League-North Division. ...

Odin graduate Alex Young, a McKendree junior, was 6-3 this year. The former Eagles star led the team in wins (six), innings pitched (72 1/3) and fanned batters (53) He allowed 40 earned runs on 75 hits for a 4.98 earned run average. McKendree finished with an overall record of 29-24. They were 13-11 in the American Midwest Conference. ...

Softball

Former Salem Wildcats standout Amanda Brendel recently finished her softball season at Southern Indiana. Brendel started all 44 games and finished with a .229 batting average. In 118 trips to the plate, she finished with 27 hits including seven doubles, five homers and one triple. She scored 18 times, drove home 18 runs, walked 17 times and stole one base. Brendel finished her junior season with a slugging percentage of .432 and an on-base percentage of .357. Southern Indiana finished 19-26 overall and 15-12 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. ...

The DePauw Lady Tigers won the NCAA Division III Indiana Regional to advance to the NCAA Division III Finals. Former Centralia softball pitcher Kristin Barrow worked three innings in the Lady Tigers 9-6 loss to Ohio Northern. Barrow allowed three hits over three innings and struck out two. The loss to ONU was sandwiched between two wins over ONU. DePauw is 39-7 overall. ...

Women's Golf

Rend Lake College finished fifth in the NJCAA National Championships hosted bty Daytona State at the Ladies Professional Golf Association International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. Rend Lake finished with a stroke count of 1,000, well back of Daytona State’s winning total of 869.

Former Salem golfer Taylor Landers, a RLC freshman, finished 22nd with a 242. Fellow RLC player Mallorie Cummings finished 47th with a 261. Landers shot a low round of 78 in the third and final round, while Cummins carded a low-round of 85 in the final round. Cummings, a RLC sophomore, will pack her bags for Illinois-Springfield after signing with the Prairie Stars earlier this year. ...

Men's Basketball

Former Centralia basketball star Matt Shaw recently finished his season with Illiabum Clube, a pro team in the LPB (Liga Profissional Basketball) located in Portugal. Shaw played in all 25 games and averaged 38 minutes per game. He finished the year with 335 points by hitting 126-of-262 field goals and 66-of-87 free throws. Of his field goals, 17 were from beyond the 3-point arc. Besides his 14.0 points per game, Shaw also had 194 rebounds, (8.1 per game), 37 steals, 35 assists and 10 blocked shots. He was in double figures 19 times and posted seven double-doubles this year. Illiabum Clube finished the year with a record of 10-15. They were 10-12 during the regular season and lost their first three playoff games. ...

Message from Daniel L. Chamness

With only three businesses left to support The College Report Online, it is unlikely this column will continue following summer break.

If the market exists for the The College Report Online, we will continue tracking Marion County collegiate athletes. If the market does not exist, we will not.

Any feedback would be appreciated, and we hope to hear from you soon.

— Daniel L. Chamness