Lock Haven, Pa. - Ahead of the 2023 PSAC Tournament, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference named their all-conference teams with the Lakers being well-represented. The team ended up having seven all-conference honors for the most in the PSAC West. They also tied for the most in the conference overall. Mercyhurst ended up with two First Team members in John Susnik and Chris Juchno, while Mitchell Grosch, Corbin Foy, Ryan Rafalski, Jacob Bazala, and Zachary Kourous, were all named to the Second Team.
Susnik had his best year as a Laker this season and was rewarded for it with his first nod as an All-PSAC selection. The senior backstop finished the regular season with a career-best batting average of .302 with a .386 OBP and a .573 SLG thanks to his six home runs, tying for the second-most on the team. His half a dozen dingers helped him eclipse the 20-home run mark for his career, now standing at 21. For his career, the native of Willoughby, Oh. batted .256 with 76 hits to his line. 58 of those came in the last two years as he hit .297 with 15 home runs.
Juchno is named to his second All-PSAC team with this being his first nod as a member of the First Team. The Laker outfielder was one of the more improved players on the diamond in the conference this year with him hitting for a .331/.438/.632 triple slash line for an OPS of 1.070, the second-best on the team. He led the way in home runs (9) and extra base hits (21) with many of those coming in the final few weeks of the season. Since April 9th, Juchno has recorded 14 extra base hits, hitting five home runs and nine doubles in that time. Four of those two baggers came in game three of the team's series against Pitt-Johnstown on April 21st while three of his home runs came in the series final against Cal (Pa.) on the 27th, making him a hitter who can get hot at any moment.
Grosch found his way onto the second team as the DH, giving him his first all-conference selection. The senior proved to be one of the top hitters in the PSAC this year with his .403 batting average, which is good for third in the conference. His 1.107 OPS was also seventh, and his .607 SLG eighth in the conference. He recorded the most hits of any Laker this year with 52, having multiple hits in 15 games, doing so in five straight games at one point as he went 11-19 with three home runs and two doubles. His most hits on the year proved to be a career-high five against D'Youville back in late February, going 5-5 with all singles.
Foy was one of the better pitchers in the conference all season long, helping him be named to his first All-PSAC team. He worked his way to a record of 5-1 with an ERA of 1.94 in 51.0 innings of work while fanning 63 batters with each of those being the best on the team. He was a consistent strikeout artist with five or more Ks in eight of his 11 appearances, doing so in five straight outings with a career-high 10 coming against Charleston on the 24th of February. His numbers were not only some of the best on the team, but also the conference, as his ERA and batting average against were second in the PSAC.
The lowest batting average against belonged to Ryan Rafalski who held hitters to a .163 average in his 37.1 innings of work to go along with his 2.41 ERA, helping him earn Second Team honors. The senior had his best season to date in a Laker uniform with him setting single-season highs in appearances, starts, innings pitched, strikeouts, and ERA. The native of Warren, Pa. Really turned it on down the stretch as he threw at least 4.0 innings in each of his last six outings with an ERA of 1.99 in the month of April over 22.2 innings of work with 19 Ks. His best outing came against Pitt-Johnstown on the 20th when he threw seven innings, striking out two, and recorded a no-hitter.
The third pitcher for the Lakers to make their way onto an all-conference team was Jacob Bazala who made a major contribution at both the start and end of games. He ended up seeing time on the mound in 15 games with three starts for 35.2 innings of work. The junior righty tallied 51 strikeouts in 35 plus innings for a K/9 rate of 12.9, which is the best on the team. Bazala struck out at least one batter in 13 of his appearances with multiple batters fanned in 12 games with a season-high of eight on the 23rd of February against Glenville State in 3.2 innings of work.
Kourous was the final Second Team recipient as the sophomore made his way onto an all-conference team for a second-straight season. Kourous finished with a triple slash line of .343/.390/.531 for an OPS of .921 for the fifth-best on the team with 14 extra base hits, hitting six doubles, three triples, and five home runs. Despite hitting out of the two spot for most of the year, Kourous still managed to be the top run producer with 38 RBIs while stealing a team-best 16 bases, showing his versatility. Kourous had the longest hitting streak of his career during the middle of the campaign at 10 games, going 16-28 (.571) over that time with one double, one triple, and two home runs.
