January 18, 2012
2012 D3Baseball.com pre-season All-Americans
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton University standout Nick Broyles has been named pre-season honorable mention All-America by D3Baseball.com for the 2012 season. The senior shortstop is the first-ever Bluffton baseball player to be selected pre-season All-America. He was one of just three Heartland Conference athletes honored this season. Michael Tucker (Anderson) and Bryce Murphy (Manchester) were also recognized by D3Baseball.com.
Broyles is coming off a junior campaign in which he was named Third Team All-Mideast Region by the ABCA for his outstanding work on the diamond. He was the first Beaver to be named All-Region since Tim Kay in 2007. Head Coach James Grandey had this to say about Broyles' selection, "We are excited for Nick to have been selected for this honor. He had an outstanding junior season and we are looking forward to a great 2012 campaign. This shows that Bluffton Baseball is improving and others are starting to take notice. Nick has been an integral part of our program’s development."
Bluffton’s version of the 30-30 players that became popular in Major League Baseball two decades ago, Broyles pounded eight home runs and was nearly perfect on the bases with 17 thefts in 18 attempts. His 17 steals equaled the school record and he was just two dingers away from his school-record 10 homers. For the season, Broyles finished with a school-record 114 total bases and his 62 hits was the third-highest total in school history. The standout ripped 18 doubles (2nd all-time) and five triples (tied for 2nd all-time).
Heading into his final season, Broyles already holds the career record with 114 RBI and he is tied with John Holzwart for the most doubles in school history (34). He needs just two steals to break the all-time mark of 40 held by Matt Henderson. Broyles is closing in on school records with 113 runs, 266 total bases, 10 triples, 149 hits and 28 HBP’s. His .627 slugging percentage is #5 all-time. Broyles pounded two homers in a game twice last season and he equaled the school record with a pair of triples against John Jay in Florida.
In Heartland Conference play, Broyles feasted on the opposing pitching to the tune of an HCAC-best 43 hits and 80 total bases. His .457 batting average was second best in the conference, as were his 12 doubles and 34 runs scored. He stole a conference-high 11 bases and came in third with seven long balls.
-BEAVERS-
