DEKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team selected its team captains for the 2017-18 academic year and baseball season based on their accomplishments both on and off the field.

Seniors Samuel Vega (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Southwestern Junior College) and Andrew Frankenreider (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap), along with junior William Anderson (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East), sophomore Tommy Szczasny (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) and red shirt freshman Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) earned the honor as they received 75 total votes out of a possible 96.

"These five young men have been a constant presence for this program this year," Huskies' head coach Mike Kunigonis said. "Each one of them had provided a level of leadership that will stay with this program and will stay with them for the rest of their careers and lives. I thank them for their leadership on and off the field."

As the Huskies' lead-off hitter, Vega finished the year leading the team in batting average (.309), at-bats (217), hits (67), total bases (86) and walks (32). He also stole a team second-best eight bases in 11 attempts for a 72 percent stolen base average, and became the first Huskie hitter to connect for five hits in a game (5 for 5 vs. Indiana State April 24) since the 2015 season. 

Frankenreider meanwhile finished his career as a graduate student and led the team with five saves for a career total of 17 saves, a mark which ranks him fifth all-time at NIU in that category. Frankenreider also completed his four-year career with a 3.49 earned run average and 112 strikeouts.

Fellow Huskie hurler Anderson garnered a team fourth-best seven starts and had a 2-1 record. In 43 innings pitched, he struck out a batter an inning and gave up only 11 extra base hits. What's more is Anderson totaled a single-game career-high nine strikeouts against Miami (Ohio) where he also threw a season-high six innings.  

Primarily as the Huskies' No. 3 hitter, Szczasny totaled a team third-best 54 hits, including a team-best three home runs. He also drove in 21 runs and carried a team fourth-best .266 batting average along with a .360 slugging percentage. Szczasny's best outing this season was a 3 for 5 performance in a 10-7 win over Valparaiso University May 1 where he had three runs scored and an RBI.

Smith came on strong in the early to midway part of the season as he went on to start 47 games of the season and carry a team sixth-best .257 batting average. Smith led the team in Mid-American Conference games as he drove in 13 runs and had a team second-best six doubles. He earned a spot in the starting lineup in early March when he carried a .571 batting average with four RBI against Southern Illinois University March 10. Smith also connected for his first career home run and connected for a run-scoring single as the Huskies capped a four-run comeback after falling behind 3-0 to the Salukis.   

Other student-athletes that received votes for the recognition include Scooter Bynum (Fairbanks, Alaska /Arizona Western College), Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North), Tanner Foster (St. Charles, Iowa/Southeastern Community College), Matthew Hoffmann (East Dubuque, Ill./Wahlert Catholic), Joe Jumonville (Munster, Ind./Munster), Parker Kirkpatrick (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence), Michael Lasiewicz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry), Connor Montgomery (Newport Beach, Calif./Canyon), Josh Mutter (Frankfort, Ill. /Lincoln-Way North), Nate Thomas (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) and Brad Wood (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence).

"The fact that we had 16 players receive votes for Leadership roles is a testament of this team's character," Kunigonis said. "We faced countless adversity throughout the year and this group never gave up and never gave in. They continued to show up to the ball park each and every day ready to work."

NIU completed the 2018 season with a 20-36 overall record, a three-game improvement from the 2017 season, while compiling a 10-8 record at Ralph McKinzie Field, the best record for an NIU team since the 2014 season.

--NIU--