May 17, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College senior catcher Adam Duerfeldt (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) was named 2006 IIAC baseball Most Valuable Player and Simpson College head coach John Sirianni was named 2006 IIAC baseball Coach of the Year.

Duerfeldt is the fourth Central player named Conference baseball Most Valuable Player and the first since Wade Van Vark in 1999. He hit .481 (65-for-135) with 11 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 46 RBI and scored 48 runs in 38 games. He had 24 multi-hit games and there were only four games this season in which he did not score or drive in a run. Duerfeldt led the Conference in batting average, on-base percentage (.543), total bases (106) and triples (tied). He also ranked among the Conference leaders in slugging percentage (2nd, .785), hits (3rd), RBI (3rd), doubles (5th) and home runs (5th), and has ranked among national leaders throughout the season in batting average, RBI/game, triples/game and slugging percentage. Defensively, he threw out a Conference-high 20 would-be base stealers, in 54 attempts (37 percent) and committed just four errors in 244 chances (.984 fielding percentage).

In 16 Conference games, Duerfeldt hit .554 (31-for-56) with four doubles, three triples, 13 RBI and 19 runs scored. He had 13 multi-hit games and was held hitless just twice, including one game in which he left after one inning. He led the Conference in batting average, on-base percentage (.603), hits (tied), runs scored and triples. He finished third in Conference-play in total bases (41), fourth in slugging percentage (.732) and t-10th in doubles. Defensively, he committed just one error in 97 chances (.990 fielding percentage) and threw out 35 percent of would-be base stealers (7-of-13).

Sirianni recently completed his 22nd season as Simpson’s head coach, leading the team to a 26-10 overall record, an 11-5 Iowa Conference record, a share of the schools’ fifth Conference title (first since 1994), and the top seed in the IIAC baseball Tournament. With a doubleheader sweep of Buena Vista on April 15, Sirianni became the 38th NCAA Division III baseball coach to reach the 500 career win plateau and he now has a career record of 510-307-2 (.625 winning percentage). This season, the Storm led the Conference in batting (.345 team average) and fielding (.968 team fielding percentage), and finished second in pitching (4.29 team ERA). This is the seventh time in his career that Sirianni has received Conference Coach of the Year honors (1987, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2006).

The IIAC also announced today the 2006 baseball All-Conference Team. The 30-member team includes 11 players with previous All-Conference selections including Wartburg senior pitcher Ryan Moorman who was named to the All-Iowa Conference Team for the fourth time. Conference tri-Champions Central, Simpson and Wartburg as well as Conference Tournament Champion Coe all placed five players on the All-Conference Team. Central had a Conference-best three First Team selections.

The complete 2006 IIAC All-Conference baseball Team is here.

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