Three members named to baseball Landmark Conference First team

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - - Three members of the Juniata College baseball team earned a position on the 2010 All-Landmark Conference Baseball Team, as voted by the conference's seven head coaches. All three were named to the first team, as it was announced Monday. 

Seniors Greg Hoffman (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney), and Andrew Kriss (Forest Hill, Md./John Carroll) represented the infielders while junior Johnny Martinez (Mount Union, Pa./Mount Union) also earned the nod as an outfielder.

Hoffman batted .329 on the season, playing in all 40 of the Eagles games. He started all but eight games behind the plate, including all 18 regular season contests between conference opponents, and the four playoff games. He led the team in RBI's (41), good enough for third in the conference. That ties his career best in a season and put him fourth all-time with 119 career runs batted in Juniata history. He also threw out 14 runners trying to swipe a bag, holding a .987 fielding percentage as a catcher. Hoffman was a second team All-Landmark selection in 2008 as well. 

Kriss, a two-time All-Landmark second team selection, had a breakout year as a senior, putting his name in multiple categories on the single season record books as well as the career record books. He finished with a conference best .432 batting average and 70 hits. He ranks second in a single season in hits, three off the mark of 73 set in 2008. Kriss led the team in average, hits, doubles (14), runs (39), total bases (90), slugging percentage (.556) and stolen bases (11). He finishes his career with 166 hits, good enough for third all time in program history. Playing every inning in all 40 games at shortstop this season, Kriss accumulated a .890 fielding percentage, with 99 assists. His 388-career assists place hit atop the list in Juniata program history.

Martinez is a first time selection to the All-Conference team. He finished his junior campaign strong, finishing with a .388 batting average and a seven game hitting streak. He also played in all 40 games this season in center field, making two appearances on the mound as well. He led the team in homeruns (4), walks (21) and on-base percentage (.473). In the conference ranks, he finished fourth in hits (52), sixth in batting average and runs scored (35), and seventh in total bases (74). He has a career batting average of .367, placing him tenth on the all-time list, with a year of eligibility left. He also ranks seventh in career doubles (28), 14 off the top mark.

Juniata completed its 2010 campaign with a 15-25 overall record, 10-8 in the Landmark Conference. They earned the fourth and final playoff spot with a 16-3 victory over the University of Scranton on the final day of the season. They used that momentum to carry them all the way to the Championship Round of the conference playoffs before being ousted by Moravian College. It was the first time since 2006, when Juniata was a part of the MAC-Commonwealth, that the team made it to the conference championship.

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