Vincennes University baseball players receive All-Conference honors

VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) and freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) received Second-Team All-Conference honors this past weekend at the 2022 Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) Baseball Tournament in Normal, IL.

VU sophomore Luke Osborn (Perrysville, Ind.) was named All-Conference Honorable Mention and sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) was named to the 2022 MWAC Rawlings Gold Glove Team.

VU shortstop and Northern Kentucky signee Peyton Lane earned Second-Team All-Conference honors after posting a .399 batting average, with 22 doubles and 29 RBI's, while drawing 18 walks in 50 games this season.

Lane closed out his Trailblazer career with a .375 batting average with a staggering 133 hits, 44 doubles and 72 RBIs in two seasons.

Lane recorded 56 extra base hits in 401 plate appearances in his two seasons with the blue and gold, including eight home runs last season as a freshman.

"Being named Second-Team All-Conference means that my time and hours put in with my team are starting to pay off," Lane said. "It wouldn't have been possible without them. It is a great feeling going into the next stage of my career."

"My biggest takeaway I have no matter what is going on is that the people to the left and right of me on the field are battling with me and we all had each other's backs," Lane added. "It was amazing to be a sophomore leader on the team this past season. I tried to instill in the younger players that no matter what, play for your teammates on the field, no matter what is going on. I truly feel everyone on the team bought into that and we all had each other's backs."

Freshman Colton Evans served as VU's main utility player. Beginning the year at third base, but also spent time in the outfield and second base throughout the year.

Evans broke onto the scene in a big way in his first season of college baseball, ending the season with a .411 batting average in 55 games, recording 81 hits, including 17 doubles, four triples and three home runs and 42 RBIs with a 1.032 OPS.

"It felt good to know that all of my hard work was starting to pay off," Evans said. "Receiving this honor also continues to give me something to work for day in and day out next year."

"My biggest takeaway from this past season was that you have to appreciate the moment every day," Evans added. "Baseball is a precious game and we are lucky to continue to play it for as long as we can. Appreciating the game and the friendships/lessons that come with it are extremely vital."

"One of the major things I learned this season was that you go into college baseball in August not really knowing the people you are going to play with and you leave in May having close friends that will last a lifetime," Evans said. "Adversity will always come in the game and it's all about how you answer back."

Sophomore Luke Osborn served as one of VU's top relief pitchers this past season and ended the year with a very impressive 1.50 ERA in 36 innings of work on the mound.

Osborn pitched in 21 games this past season and recorded four wins and six saves on the year. Osborn struck out 27 batters and only allowed six earned runs this past season.

Osborn closed out his two-year VU career with a 3.68 ERA in 58 and two-thirds innings and 43 strikeouts.

"It's a great honor to be named an All-Conference Honorable Mention," Osborn said. "It's great to see all the hard work that I've put into this season rewarded and it's motivation to put in more work to go above and be All-Conference."

"My biggest takeaway from my time at Vincennes University is that you can't be perfect on the baseball field and you will fail," Osborn added. "You can't let those failures determine your next outing or game."

"My advice for the next class of VU baseball players would be to not take a second for granted because the time will fly by," Osborn said."

Rounding out the VU baseball honorees is sophomore center fielder Colin Long who was named to the 2022 MWAC Rawlings Gold Glove Team after posting a .979 fielding percentage this past season.

Long committed only three errors all season in 47 games for the Blazers, while recording 138 putouts and one outfield assist.

Long also handled himself well at the plate all season, ending with a .392 batting average, with 69 hits, including nine doubles, three triples and a team-leading four home runs.

Long had a season-high eight game hitting streak earlier in the season and had a pair of four-hit games and eight three-hit games this past season.

Long had his sophomore season cut short after a knee injury forced him to miss seven of the final eight games of the season.

"It means a lot to me that I was picked to the 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Team because defense is something that I truly have worked on to better myself on the field for my teammates and especially the pitching staff," Long said. "It's a good feeling making plays for my pitchers when they know I got their back out there and they can trust me to do my job."

"The friendships I have made and the chance to play college baseball in a really good conference while also getting a really good education is something I will never forget," Long added. "I would tell the incoming freshman at VU that it means a lot to be a part of the VU baseball team and to be able to put on the Vincennes jersey because you are surrounded by a really good group that wants you to better yourself every day. Whether it's in the classroom or on the field, you will be surrounded by people that care about you and want you to succeed."

The Vincennes University baseball team closed out the 2022 Spring season with a record of 25-32 and a 15-17 record in MWAC Conference play.

The Trailblazers finished fifth in the conference and recorded an impressive 17 wins at Jerry Blemker Field this past season.