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NAIA Region III Tournament Berths 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003 Regular Season Conference Champions 2009, 2007, 2006 Conference Tournament Champions 2008, 2007, 2006, 1979

(Dickinson, ND) – Dickinson State is the winner of the Dakota Athletic Conference Commissioner’s Cup as the top athletic program for the 2008-09 school year.

The Blue Hawks compiled 120 points to capture the honor. Black Hills State finished second with 113 points, followed by Jamestown College with 101, Minot State with 96, South Dakota Mines with 62, Dakota State with 60, Valley City State with 34 and Mayville State with 27.

Dickinson State won six conference championships (football, women’s basketball, men’s indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball and softball) during the 2008-09 season. Black Hills State captured seven conference crowns (co-champions in volleyball and outright titles in men’s and women’s cross county, men’s basketball, women’s golf and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field). Minot State captured one conference championship (men’s golf) and Jamestown College won a conference title (co-champions in volleyball).

The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded to the member institution with the best overall record in conference competition. Points are awarded based on each school’s finish in conference sports that include a conference championship.

"It's a great honor for our athletic programs and our University," says DSU baseball coach Duane Monlux. "It shows the committment that we have as an athletic program from top to bottom at Dickinson State University."

All Conference Performers - and - PHOTO ALBUM

The 2009 DAC regular season champion Dickinson State University Blue Hawk baseball team had eight players named to the All-DAC team and two more named to the DAC Gold Glove team. Senior 1st baseman Efrain Ruiz was named the Most Valuable Player and junior pitcher Jamil Acosta was named Pitcher of the Year. Head Coach Duane Monlux was honored as DAC Coach of the Year. Cody Holland, Andrew Grafton, and Chris Young were all named to the 1st team, while Cory Neer, Julian Ramirez, and Tony Isbell were placed on the 2nd team. Cody Holland and Nolan Bracken were both honored on the DAC Gold Glove team.

Ruiz became the 3rd player in DSU history to be named MVP of the league, joining Travis Hodsdon and Scott Tulloch. He was named to the DAC 1st team at 1st base after amassing a .420 batting average with 15 doubles, one triple, and six homers. He also added 38 RBI and four stolen bases. He ended the season with a .687 slugging percent and a .512 on base average. His .420 average is third best in DSU single season history. Ruiz was named to the All-DAC second team in 2008 as a 3rd baseman.

Acosta had one of the more memorable seasons on the mound for a Blue Hawk hurler. He became just the second pitcher in DSU history to be named pitcher of the year in the conference (Luis Avila earned the honor in 2007). He ended the season with a 7-2 record with one save. He pitched in 62.1 innings, tallying 54 strikeouts to just 19 walks. He posted a season ERA of 2.89.

Cody Holland had a stellar season for the Hawks on offense and defense. He became just the 2nd player in DSU history to be named to the all-conference 1st team and Gold Glove team in the same year (Scott Tulloch did it in 2008). Holland led the Hawks with a .422 batting average with seven doubles, two triples, and seven homers. He also added 35 RBI, 11 stolen bases, 43 runs scored, and a team best and DSU single season record .548 on base average. Holland’s season batting average is 2nd on the single season record behind Jared Overman’s .440 batting average during the 2002 season. Holland was also stellar in left field, earning the DAC’s Gold Glove award for that position. He had a fielding percentage of .950 to go along with nine assists and 67 putouts.

Chris Young was honored on the first team at catcher. The junior from Hemet, California ended the season with a .284 batting averaging with six doubles, three homers, and 20 RBI. He started 36 of DSU’s 41 games behind the plate. He had a fielding percent of .970 on the year.

Andrew Grafton was named 1st team as a relief pitcher. He appeared in 17 games for the Hawks, recording six saves and an overall record of 4-2 in 26.0 innings pitched. Teams hit just .215 off Grafton as he recorded 21 strikeouts and issued just seven walks. His ERA was 3.12 on the year.

Tony Isbell named to the 2nd team as a designated hitter. The senior from Florence, Montana compiled a .320 batting average with 12 doubles, one triple, and seven homers. He also added 38 RBI and 34 runs scored.

Julian Ramirez was named to the 2nd team as a pitcher for the Hawks. The junior started nine games on the mound for DSU, recording a 2-0 record with an ERA of 5.94. He pitched in 47.0 innings with 25 strikeouts and 24 walks. Teams hit .304 off of Julian.

Cory Neer was also named to the 2nd team as a pitcher. The senior from Williston, North Dakota was 3-0 on the year with a 5.06 ERA. He registered 31 strikeouts in 42.2 innings of work. Teams hit just .277 off Neer.

Nolan Bracken earned his 1st Gold Glove in 2009. The junior right fielder started 37 games for DSU and did not have an error on the season. He was perfect on 77 chances. He recorded 73 putouts and also added four assists on the year.

Head coach Duane Monlux takes home his 3rd DAC Coach of the Year award in the past four seasons. Monlux was named DAC and Region III Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2007 as well. He helped lead the Hawks to their 3rd regular season DAC title in the past four years. The Hawks also placed second at this year’s DAC tournament. The Hawks ended the season with a 27-14 overall record and a 12-3 mark in the DAC. The Hawks have an impressive record of 47-17-1 in DAC play over the past four years. The Hawks are also 13-3 overall in the last four DAC tournaments.

The Blue Hawks ran out of late inning heroics in the second championship game of the DAC tournament, falling to Jamestown College 9-2. The Hawks made the second title game after heart stopping comebacks in their two previous games.

In DSU’s loser out game against Dakota State, the Hawks found themselves down 7-3. They chipped away and got themselves to down 7-5 in the top of the ninth inning. DSU sophomore Derrick Gunderson provided the excitement in the 9th, hitting his first collegiate homer to tie the game at 7-7. The Hawks held Dakota State scoreless in the bottom of the ninth. Dickinson State scored the game winning run on an RBI triple by Cody Holland. Dakota State made things interesting, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with only one out. Andrew Grafton struck out Ryan Breitling looking, setting up the exciting final out. Dakota State’s Brian Hunt sent the 2-2 offering to the warning track before the ball was hauled in by Nolan Bracken to end the game.

DSU squared off with Jamestown College in the first championship game on Sunday. The Hawks won a thriller thanks to a big six run fifth inning, capped off by Mike Nash’s grand slam. The Jimmies bounced back and took an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the 8th inning. DSU scored a single run in the top of the 9th inning on an RBI groundout by Brandon Loveridge. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th inning. Again the unlikely heroics of Derrick Gunderson game to the forefront. With a runner on 1st base and two outs, Gunderson belted his 2nd homer in two games, this one putting the Hawks up 10-8. Jamil Acosta shut the door in the bottom of the 11th, upping his record to 7-2 on the season.

Dickinson State couldn’t muster enough magic in the final game of the tournament. The Jimmies cashed in on a couple of DSU defensive mistakes and built themselves an 8-0 lead. The Hawks plated two runs in the bottom half of the 8th inning, pulling themselves to 8-2, but the Jimmies added an insurance run in the 9th to take home the tournament crown by a score of 9-2. The Blue Hawks end the season with a 27-14 overall record.

“We made a good run at the tournament,” says Duane Monlux. “Jamestown played very good baseball and I thought we played good baseball as well. We just found ourselves down in that last game and just couldn’t get back in the game. We needed to get a couple of hits in key moments, but didn’t. We had a heck of season. We ended up going 23-6 in our final 29 games, won the DAC regular season title outright, and finished as runners-up in the conference tournament. Our team battled through some key injuries during the season and to be able to play at a high level with that happening, says a lot about this team.”

The Hawks will now have to wait and see if they can get an at-large berth into the NAIA opening round tournament. The qualifiers will be announced on Friday, May 8th.

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