Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University baseball standout Matt Steinke, class of 2008 from Wapakoneta, Ohio, has been recognized for the combination of his athletic and academic accomplishments with second-team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division All-District IV honors.
This is the first such award in Steinke's career. He is the third Wittenberg baseball player to earn academic all-district honors since 2000, joining Nate Williams in 2001 and Jon Komperda in 2004 and 2005.
Steinke started all 34 games he played in 2008 for the Tigers, who finished with records of 19-19 overall and 7-9 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) West Division. A three-year letterwinner and two-year team captain, Steinke batted .372, which ranks second among Tiger players with at least 20 starting assignments, and banged out a team-best 14 doubles. He also was among the team leaders with 28 runs batted in, two home runs, 32 runs scored, 42 hits and four stolen bases.
For his career, Steinke ranks in the top 10 in school history for doubles in a season (14 in 2008) and a career (32). He batted .328 in his three years in the Red & White, scoring 87 runs and driving in another 70.
Steinke, who earned a 3.33 grade point average before graduating from Wittenberg with a degree in management today, perhaps shined brightest with the catcher's gear on as he made just one error in 2008. For his career, he finished with 505 putouts and 85 assists against just 11 errors.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
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