SHREVEPORT, La. - Recent Centenary graduate Michael Schimpf of the #6 Centenary baseball team has been recognized as Academic All-District� in District 8 as an outfielder for the second straight season, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and released Thursday, May 4.
"Recognized earlier in the spring as the inaugural Gent of the Year, Michael is the quintessential example of success both in the classroom and on the playing fields," said Centenary Director of Athletics and Recreation, Dr. Bob Bunnell. "It has been a pleasure to be able to watch him all season, and I wish him well in the NCAA Tournament and as he attends law school."
Schimpf, who graduated from Centenary with degrees in French and history and a 3.94 GPA, currently leads the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the second-straight year in batting average (.412). He leads the conference and is eighth in the country with a .556 on-base percentage.
"It is always great to see Michael being recognized for all his accomplishments," said head coach Mike Diaz.
He also sits second in the conference (to classmate Aaron Quintanilla) and ranks seventh in the country with 53 runs scored. Schimpf also ranks second in the SCAC (behind junior Chris Zapata) with 46 RBI's, the 21st most in NCAA Division III.
Announced last week, Schimpf repeated both as First Team All-Conference and All-Tournament. Also in 2017, he has garnered three SCAC Player of the Week and two D3Baseball.com team of the week nods. In only the third game of the season, Schimpf hit for the cycle at Redlands in a Maroon 9-4 win February 4. Against Trinity in the winner's bracket final of the SCAC Tournament, he went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI double in a 5-3 win for the Gents.
The Academic All-District� awards are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada with four different teams recognized (NCAA Division I, II, and III teams as well as team consisting of athletes in Canada, NAIA, and two-year institutions). First-team Academic All-District� honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America� Team ballot, where first, second and third-team All-America� honorees will be selected later this month.
All three outfield spots hails from an SCAC institution, as Schimpf is joined by Matthew Lemon and Riley Schaefer from Texas Lutheran. Pitcher Dylan Drgac also represented the Bulldogs and the SCAC.
Centenary baseball, which won both the SCAC Regular Season and Tournament titles, returns to action on May 18, with sites and times to be announced on May 15. The Gents will most likely be in the West Regional, which will be contested in Tyler, Texas, May 18-22.
