John Carroll University Athletics

Six Blue Streaks earned recognition on the 2009 All-Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Team in a league-wide vote of the ten head coaches.

Senior pitcher Paul O'Donnell, senior infielder/outfielder Michael Krainz, junior outfielder Tim O'Brien, sophomore infielder Brian Benander and freshman infielder Tom Hickey all earned second team honors, while senior catcher Christopher Cairo was tabeed as an honorable mention.

O'Donnell was 6-3 as the number one pitcher on the JCU staff. In 11 starts, which included two complete games, he forged an ERA of 4.39 and struck out 38 batters in just over 67 innings pitched. O'Donnell was 10-5 over his final two seasons for the Blue Streaks

Krainz put up career-high numbers in nearly every offensive category this season. As JCU's leadoff hitter, he batted .378 with 56 hits and 40 runs scored -- both totals ranking second on the team. Krainz had on base percentage of .489 this season and .487 for his career.

O'Brien batted .319 in his first full year as a starter. Among his 43 hits were six doules, a team-high four triples, and one home run. After appearing in just 27 games his first two seasons at JCU, O'Brien played in 35 games this year and drove in 26 runs.

Benander also was a first year starter, logging 34 games at third base. In those 34 starts, he batted .348 and scored a team-best 47 runs. Also leading the team with 20 bases on balls, Benander slugged out eight doubles, two triples and two home runs among his 46 hits, and collected 33 RBI.

Hickey had a tremendous rookie season in which he set a JCU record for hits by a freshman with 63. The Blue Streaks' top hitter with a batting average of .438 (second best in the OAC behind league player of the year Cameron Cimino), Hickey amassed 15 doubles and led JCU with 46 RBI, a .500 on base percetage and a .536 slugging percentage.

Cairo batted .349 in 28 games for his best season at the plate to date, logging 30 hits, 16 runs and 17 RBI. He was also impressive behind the dish, throwing out nearly half (13 of 27) of the bases runners who attempted a steal against him.

John Carroll finished the 2009 campaign with a record of 24-12 overall and 11-7 in the OAC (4th place). The .667 winning percentage was the second highest in program history, and the Blue Streaks qualified for their sixth OAC Tournament and first since 2004.