MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball player Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Year, it was announced by the league.
In addition Wagner was also selected to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team.
Wagner becomes the 16th Lyon to earn NEWMAC Player of the Year honors. Wheaton has boasted more Player of the Year honorees than any other school in the conference.
Wagner was one of the most feared hitters in the conference and one of the most consistent run producers in the region. The senior knocked in a league-leading 62 runs, while also ranking 13th in the nation in RBI and 11th with 1.51 RBI per game. His RBI total is also tied for third-most in school history. The first baseman was one of just three players in NCAA Division III to knock in at least five runs on five occasions during the season and drove in at least one run in 27 of 41 games, while leading Wheaton with 16 multi-RBI efforts. Wagner batted .387 (60-155) for the year to place third among NEWMAC leaders and led the circuit with a .490 on-base percentage, which is the seventh-highest single-season mark in program history. The Massachusetts native was even better with runners in scoring position, hitting at a .455 (29-63) clip to cement his reputation as one of the best RBI-men in Division III. Wagner racked up the total bases with 99 to rank second in the conference, including 16 doubles that was the second-highest total among NEWMAC players and seven home runs for the seventh-most in the conference as part of a .stunning .639 slugging percentage to stand fifth in the NEWMAC. His on-base percentage and slugging percentage gave him an OPS of 1.129 to rank fourth in the league. Wagner's combination of selectivity and power almost guaranteed that he would contribute in one way or another for the Lyons. The Boston College High School product drew 28 walks for the second-most in the league and struck out just 16 times in 192 plate appearances. He hit safely in 36 of 41 games and did not go hitless in consecutive games the entire season. He enjoyed a pair of hitting streaks of at least nine games and closed out his career by putting together an 11-game hitting streak, where he batted .415 (17-41) with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 18 runs batted in. During the streak, Wagner collected four hits against Babson College on April 22 to mark the third time that he had registered a four-hit outing. He also clubbed his second grand slam during the stretch to become just the fifth player in school history to hit two slams in a season. The Business major started all 41 games and scored 43 runs to rank seventh in the NEWMAC, while standing third with 60 hits. Wagner was an outstanding defender as well for Wheaton, committing just one error in 355 total chances and was a part of 27 double plays that the Blue and White turned during the campaign.
For his career, Wagner started 98 of 115 games that he appeared in, while batting .338 (126-373) with 102 runs batted in, 15 homers, 31 doubles and one triple to fuel a formidable .547 slugging percentage. After making the switch from the pitcher's mound as a first year, Wagner also maintained a .432 lifetime on-base average that included 56 walks.
Wheaton finished the season with a 22-19 record, including 9-7 in league play. The Lyons have never finished with fewer than 21 wins in a full season and have advanced to the double-elimination phase of the NEWMAC Championship Tournament in every season.
