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Six Vermilion Community College baseball players have been recognized with All-Northern Division honors by the Minnesota Community Athletic Conference.
Sophomore pitcher Marcus Haire, Jr. and freshman shortstop Chris Arambula led the way, earning spots on the All-Northern Division First Team.
They are led by second-team selection DeSoto Hood, a sophomore infielder, and three Ironhawks who landed spots on the third team: sophomore infielder Mason Kostka, sophomore outfielder Jake Casazza and freshman infielder Will Thibodeau.
The awards came on the heels of a season in which Vermilion won 20 games, third most in program history.
Haire, who hails from San Antonio, Tex., developed into Vermilion’s pitching ace and was one of the top hurlers in the division. The righthander went 6-2 on the hill, working 51 innings and recording a 4.45 earned run average.
Arambula made an immediate impact in Vermilion’s lineup, taking over at shortstop and hitting a team-best .438, with 56 hits, two home runs, 32 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases. He is from Wray, Col.
Gaining All-MCAC honors for a second straight year is Hood, who came to Vermilion from Hosford, Fla. While the Vermilion pitching ace was kept off of the mound because of arm troubles, the injury didn’t affect his bat. Hood led Vermilion with seven home runs and topped the division with 52 RBI while hitting .328 and racing up a slugging percentage of .592.
Three other Ironhawks earned third-team honors, with Kostka repeating. The Eau Claire native hit .360 with three home runs and 43 runs batted in, and he finished his two-year run at Vermilion with a whopping 77 RBI.
Thibodeau also came to Vermilion from Eau Claire, starting at second base, shortstop and left field at varying points of the season. He led the MCAC with 45 walks and had an on-base percentage of .561. He also hit .355 with 21 RBI.
Rounding out the Vermilion contingent was Casazza, a two-year starting outfielder from Homosassa, Fla.
The speedy, athletic Casazza stole 15 bases while hitting .352 with four home runs, 40 RBI and 12 total extra-base hits.
