SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team had four of its players named to the 2024 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Team Tuesday.
 
Senior Austin Baal led the Raider representatives with an All-PSAC First Team nod at first base. Junior starting pitcher Jaxon Dalena, junior shortstop Carter Hinds and senior relief pitcher Ethan Miller were tabbed for the Second Team.
 
Voting for the All-PSAC squad is conducted by the league's head coaches. It is the first All-Conference recognition for all four SU honorees.
 
The personification of power and patience, Baal finished third in the PSAC with nine round-trippers and ranked in the Top 10 in the conference in OBP (.477), slugging percentage (.644) and OPS (1.121).
 
He led the Raiders in numerous hitting categories, including batting average (.356), doubles (12), RBI (35), walks (32), total bases (87), OBP, slugging and OPS. Baal is the first SU first baseman named to the All-PSAC First Team since 2017 (Jake Kennedy).
 
Dalena solidified himself as the Raiders' ace, pitching to a microscopic 2.50 ERA (sixth best in the PSAC) with 72 strikeouts (seventh in the conference) and a .188 batting average against (fourth best). He recorded those punchouts in 54.0 innings pitched, for a gaudy 13 strikeouts per nine innings and a .96 WHIP.
 
His 37 hits allowed was third fewest among qualified starting pitchers in the PSAC.
 
Dalena posted a pair of complete game performances, highlighted by his three-hit, 13-strikeout and zero-walk outing in a win over Shepherd March 29.
 
Hinds, a sure-handed shortstop, also served as the catalyst at the top of the Raider lineup, finishing among the Top 10 in the PSAC in runs scored (42).
 
Hinds batted .308 with a .364 on-base percentage, contributing nine doubles and three triples. Defensively, he committed just six errors in 153 total chances.
 
Miller authored a breakout season as the Raiders' top reliever, pitching to a 2.88 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 25.0 innings pitched. His five saves tied him for fifth-most in the PSAC.
 
West Chester's Anthony Boccio headlined the major award winners as the 2024 PSAC Eastern Division Baseball Athlete of the Year. East Stroudsburg ace Brent Francisco was tabbed East Pitcher of the Year and Warrior head coach John Kochmansky was named East Coach of the Year. West Chester's Zachary McEllroy took home East Freshman of the Year.