May 20, 2009—Mount St. Mary’s sophomore right fielder Shane Eyler (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) has been named the Northeast Conference Player of the Year while also garnering First Team All-NEC honors in the outfield. Eyler is the first Mount St. Mary’s player to win Player of the Year honors since the Mount joined the league in 1990.
Eyler had a breakout season for the Mountaineers, hitting .380 with 11 doubles, 15 home runs, 46 RBI, 39 runs scored and a .717 slugging percentage. Eyler led the Mount in hits, runs, home runs, RBI, total bases (119), slugging percentage and on-base percentage (.446).
In Northeast Conference games, Eyler was even better, hitting a robust .411 with 27 runs scored, 12 home runs and 33 RBI in 26 games. Eyler posted an impressive .889 slugging percentage in league play with an on-base percentage of .490.
Eyler moved into the top 10 on the Mount’s single-season record list in several categories. His 15 home runs were the third-best single-season mark in Mount history behind Josh Vittek’s 20 home runs last year and Jeff Koenig’s 16 home runs in 2002. His .717 slugging percentage is the second-best single-season mark in Mount history. Other top 10 single-season marks include batting average (.380, 3rd), on-base percentage (.446, 7th), runs scored (39, T10th), hits (63, 6th), RBI (46, 5th) and total bases (119, 2nd).
Eyler is the first Mount player to earn All-NEC honors in the outfield since Ryan Murray in 2007. He is the sixth Mountaineer to earn First Team All-NEC in the outfield, joining Murray (2007), Jason Weszka (2004), Will Vanjonack (1997, 1999), Dennis Jenks (1998) and Tom Porch (1995).
The Mountaineers finished the 2009 season 23-25 overall and 15-11 in the Northeast Conference. The Mount tied for the fourth and final NEC playoff spot, but was eliminated from postseason play due to the tiebreaker. The Mount’s 15 NEC wins were the second-best single-season mark by a Mount team since joining the league while the Mount has now posted five straight winning seasons in NEC play.
Courtesy: Mount St. Mary's Sports Information
