CoSIDA Academic All-America® Teams

WINONA, Minn. — A year ago, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) proved to be among the nation's best both on the baseball diamond and in the classroom.
 
And this year proved to be no different.
 
After garnering seven post-season awards as a sophomore last season—including All-American honors from D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings, and Academic All-America® accolades from CoSIDA—Buerkle was busy collecting more hardware this year.
 
The junior third baseman was named First-Team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while also landing ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team All-Midwest Region and D3baseball.com Third-Team All-Midwest Region honors.
 
And Wednesday, Buerkle added yet another trophy to his ever-expanding trophy case, as he was named to the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® Third-Team.
 
Buerkle is one of eight individuals on this year's CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III baseball teams who have earned multiple CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors in their careers. This year's CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team features four individuals who have previously been named to the Academic All-America® team. There are three repeat honorees on the second team and one—Buerkle—return selection on the third team.
 
Buerkle started all 43 games for the Cardinals this season—helping the Cardinals to a 27-15-1 overall record—the most wins since 1992, when they finished 28-7—and their second MIAC Playoff appearance in his three years as a Cardinal.
 
Buerkle finished second on the team in batting average (.386), runs (45), and RBIs (43), while leading the squad in triples (6) and walks (33), and sharing the team's top spot in doubles (14).
 
Buerkle recorded a season- and career-high seven RBIs—on just two hits—in the Cardinals' 19-2 win over Hamline in the MIAC Playoffs on May 13. He collected a pair of two-run triples, while also adding a sacrifice fly and two RBI groundouts. Buerkle's seven RBIs were the most in a single game since Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) achieved the feat on April 15, 2015.
 
The junior third baseman, who compiled 16 multiple-hit and 11 multiple-RBI games this season, has proven to be virtually impossible to keep off the base paths during his Saint Mary's career. Buerkle reached base safely in 42 of the Cardinals' 43 contests this season—including hits in 38 of the those 43 games—and has been held off the base paths just three times in 118 career contests.
 
Buerkle, a management major with a 3.70 GPA, was one of just two MIAC players among the 33 named to the three CoSIDA Academic All-America® teams, being joined by First-Teamer Logan Hershey of Saint John's.
 
Junior first baseman Conner Combs of East Texas Baptist University was selected as the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-American® of the Year.