BROOKLYN, N.Y. (May 20, 2009) – Sophomore catcher Denis Ackermann of the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team earned the American Baseball Coach’s Association/Rawlings Gold Glove Award as a catcher for the 2009 season. Stevens finished 21-20 on the year and received its first-ever appearance into the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Metro Division Championship as the Ducks fell in the Finals to Ramapo College. On the year, Ackermann posted a 0.991 fielding percentage with 202 putouts, 30 assists and just two errors.
Ackermann started 37 of 41 games behind the dish. He posted a .317 batting average; having totaled 39 hits in 123 at-bats during his second year with the squad. Ackermann launched three homers and drove in 22 runs. Defensively, he threw out 19 runners on the year.
Since the end of last season, Ackermann has worked hard to improve his game. During the summer of 2008, he competed in his final season with the American Legion summer league. Ackermann helped to lead the Post 139 squad to a New Jersey State Legion Title and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Last year marked his third-straight season with the team as he helped to build the program after his first campaign saw the squad come away with just one win in the district tournament. Ackermann’s leadership and aggressiveness was showcased in 2009, where the Ducks finished fourth in the Empire 8 and improved from a 10-26 record in 2008 to their fifth 20-win season (21-20) in Stevens’ history.
