ALTOONA, Pa. — Following his outstanding freshman campaign with the Penn State Altoona baseball team, Nittany Lions third baseman Jake Hillard (State College, Pennsylvania/State College) was named to the second team of the D3baseball.com All-Mideast Region squad.
Hillard’s regional honor comes after he was chosen as the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s Newcomer of the Year while also earning a first team All-Conference nod.
Hillard emerged as one of the top hitters in the AMCC this season in just his freshman year. In the conference, he ranked second in total bases (73), third in slugging percentage (.737) and doubles (13), fourth in RBI (32), 11th in hits (37), 14th in batting average (.374), 17th in sacrifice flies (2), 19th in runs scored (25), 20th in triples (1), 26th in on-base percentage (.418), and 39th in walks (9). In the field, the freshman was 21st in assists (35) and 29th in double plays (4).
Hillard tied a pair of Penn State Altoona baseball single game records this season, collecting five hits in a game against Wilson College on April 8 and hitting three doubles in a game against Medaille on April 3. This spring, he received the AMCC Player of the Week award on May 3 and was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III National Rookie of the Week on May 5.
This marks the ninth year that D3baseball.com has named All-Region teams, with a total of 940 players nominated across eight Division III regions. Ballots were voted upon by D3baseball.com staff and contributors.
Penn State Altoona baseball finished its 2021 season with a 12-15 overall record, including going 9-7 in the AMCC to take fifth place in the conference’s regular season standings. The Nittany Lions earned a berth into the conference tournament, where the team lost in the quarterfinal round in a best-of-three series with Alfred State College.