Michigan State University Athletics
Baseball Announces 2015 Team Awards
5/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
EAST LANSING - Head coach Jake Boss announced the winners of the 2015 Michigan State baseball team awards on Thursday, May 28. Ryan Krill was named the John Kobs Most Valuable Player, the Kirk Gibson Offensive Player of the Year and the Jerry Sutton Student Athlete Award winner.
Krill, an All-Big Ten second team selection, posted the best season of his career in 2015. He led the conference in Big Ten play in nearly every offensive category, including: batting average (.451), slugging percentage (.857), on-base percentage (.545), RBIs (36) and home runs (10).
His 57 RBIs tied for the ninth-highest single season total in program history and he ended the year with a team-high.351 batting average. The Kalamazoo native slugged 13 home runs, the final of which was a go-ahead grand slam that came in the eighth inning of a 9-7 win over Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament
Krill posted a career-long and team season-high 19-game hitting streak from April 17 - May 16
He was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time in his career after a 5-for-6, six-RBI performance in the series finale vs. Northwestern on April 12.
In the classroom, Krill has a 3.37 GPA and is an economics major.
Sophomore reliever Joe Mockbee was named the Robin Roberts Most Valuable Pitcher. The lefty posted a team-best 1.78 ERA and led the team in wins with a 6-2 record. His 25 appearances totaling 50.2 innings were tied for the second most on the team as he struck out 50 batters and walked just 17.
Mockbee earned wins in relief against Clemson, Ohio State, Oregon, Western Michigan, Rutgers and Nebraska. He recorded a season-high in innings pitched (4.2) and strikeouts (9) at Oregon. He had saves in victories over Indiana and Penn State.
Catcher Chad Roskelly garnered both the Danny Litwhiler Defensive Player of the Year and Steve Garvey Most Improved Player honors. Roskelly, a redshirt freshman, made 47 starts behind the plate and was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. In 51 games, he posted a .276 batting average and 30 RBIs - fifth most on the team. In Big Ten play, Roskelly hit .253 with seven doubles and 12 RBIs.
His best performance of the season at the plate came in a win at Central Michigan on May 12 where he went 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
Defensively, Roskelly posted a .995 fielding percentage with four pickoffs and 12 runners caught stealing.
Senior outfielder Chase Toth was voted winner of the Craig Hendricks Spartan Spirit Award. Most of Toth's 25 appearances in 2015 came as a pinch runner. He made his second start of the season at Notre Dame where he went 2-for-4 with a run scored to help the Spartans to a win.
JOHN KOBS MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Ryan Krill
ROBIN ROBERTS MOST VALUABLE PITCHER - Joe Mockbee
DANNY LITWHILER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Chad Roskelly
KIRK GIBSON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Ryan Krill
STEVE GARVEY MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Chad Roskelly
JERRY SUTTON STUDENT ATHLETE AWARD - Ryan Krill
CRAIG HENDRICKS SPARTAN SPIRIT AWARD - Chase Toth
