Horizon League players named to CoSIDA Academic All-District baseball, softball teams

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Seven Horizon League student-athletes were recognized for their achievements on the field and in the classroom Thursday (May 11) as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced its Academic All-District baseball and softball teams, sponsored by ESPN the Magazine.

Cleveland State University led the way with three representatives on the District IV First-Team softball unit, including two-time League Pitcher of the Year Grace Luginbuhl. The senior picked up her third consecutive CoSIDA honor, winning this year's citation with a 2.19 ERA and 218 strikeouts in 211 innings pitched (prior to the Horizon League Championship tournament), helping the Vikings to a second-place finish in the League standings during the regular season. Luginbuhl, who earned 22 of the team's 35 victories during the regular season, carries a 3.72 grade-point average in chemical engineering.

Battery-mate J.J. Thornberry and junior outfielder Michele Penney also garnered first-team accolades, with Thornberry adding the award to the Second-Team All-League certificate she received earlier this week. The senior catcher started tournament play hitting .296 with six home runs and 19 RBI, and she leads the team with a .453 on-base percentage. A graphic design major with a 3.98 GPA, Thornberry recently received the school's President's Award, which is presented to the graduating student-athlete with the highest GPA.

Penney was a First-Team All-League choice on the field, batting .342 with 12 doubles, four home runs and a team-high 32 RBI during the regular season. She led the Vikings with a .412 average, four home runs, 17 RBI and a .691 slugging percentage in League play. In the classroom, she carries a 3.79 GPA as an anthropology major.

Cleveland State was the only District IV team with three First-Team selections, while the University of Tennessee had two honorees. Seven other schools split the final seven slots on the 12-player team, as a tie in the voting forced the inclusion of three pitchers instead of the usual two.

In District V, University of Illinois at Chicago shortstop Joyce Cathey represented the League on the First-Team Academic team for the second consecutive year, with University of Wisconsin-Green Bay catcher Kate Sullivan on the Second-Team unit.

Cathey anchored the infield for UIC, as the only Flame to start all 55 games during the regular season. The First-Team All-League pick's .344 batting average was seventh-best in the League, while she posted more hits (55) than any other loop competitor. That total included five doubles, four triples, six home runs and 24 RBI to lead the Flames to their third consecutive regular-season title and the top seed in this week's League Championship. She has compiled a 3.66 grade-point average as a criminal justice major.

Sullivan led the Horizon League with her .415 average during the regular season, and broke the school's single-season record with her 29th RBI in the team's opening-round victory at the loop summit on Thursday. The First-Team All-League selection has played in all 32 of the team's games this season. In the classroom, she has a 3.29 grade-point average while majoring in human biology.

Southern Illinois University took four of the 11 spots on the First-Team unit, with Northwestern University receiving two awards.

In baseball, Youngstown State University teammates Brandon Caipen and Josh Page represented the Horizon League in District IV. Caipen became the first player in program history to earn First-Team Academic All-District accolades, while Page was a second-team selection.

Caipen is hitting a career-best .332 with five home runs and 40 RBIs this season, entering this weekend's series versus the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His average puts him 11th on the loop charts, while he ranks fourth with 38 runs scored. A First-Team All-Horizon League selection last season, Caipen holds a 3.71 grade point average in integrated social studies education.

Page leads the Penguins at the plate in batting average at .370 (third-best in the League) and hits with 68 (second). The sophomore second baseman has also been outstanding in the field, committing just four errors in 223 chances. He holds a 3.92 GPA in middle childhood education.

To be eligible for Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale) with sophomore or higher standing both athletically and academically. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has presented Academic All-America honors to more than 14,000 student-athletes at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels. The First-Team selections from each of CoSIDA's eight districts are placed on the ballot for Academic All-America consideration. Baseball's national honor roll will be announced May 30, with the softball team released the following day.

District IV encompasses the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, while District V includes Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, plus the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

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A list of the Academic All-District IV and V teams can be found in the PDF version of this story.