| May 20, 2004
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that
Simpson College junior third baseman Dan Rieck (Ankeny,
Iowa/Dowling HS) has been named 2004 IIAC Baseball Most Valuable
Player and Simpson head coach John Sirianni has
been named 2004 IIAC Baseball Coach of the Year.
Rieck completed Conference play ranked in the top-10
of most major offensive categories including leading the IIAC with
26 hits. He hit .406 with three home runs, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored
and a .609 slugging percentage in 16 games. He was tied for fourth
in the Conference in runs scored, tied for eighth in home runs,
ninth in batting average and RBI, and 11th in slugging percentage.
In four games during the Iowa Conference Tournament, he hit .500
(10-for-20) with four extra base hits, six RBI and five runs scored.
Overall, Rieck, the first Simpson baseball player
to earn Conference MVP honors since 1991, enters the NCAA Regional
Tournament with a .456 batting average, nine home runs, 46 RBI,
a .747 slugging percentage and a .494 on-base percentage in 43 games.
His batting average and on-base percentage are tops among IIAC players
while his slugging percentage, 72 base hits and four triples rank
second. He is also in the top-10 among Conference players in home
runs (t-4th), RBI (6th) and runs scored (t-9th with 39).
Sirianni was named IIAC Coach of the Year for the
sixth time in his 20-year tenure as Simpson’s head coach. He leads
the Storm into their first NCAA Tournament since 1999 with a 29-14
overall record, marking the 14th time the team has won 20 or more
games during his tenure. One more victory and the team will have
its third 30-win season under Sirianni. He led Simpson to a third-place
finish in the IIAC regular season with an 11-5 record and then led
the team to a 4-0 mark in the Conference Tournament.
The IIAC also announced today the Baseball All-Conference
Team. The 28-member Team includes 14 First Team Players and 14 Second
Team Players. Conference regular season Champion Wartburg and Tournament
Champion Simpson both a Conference-high seven players garner All-Conference
honors. Simpson had a Conference-high four First Team selections.
The complete 2004 IIAC All-Conference Baseball
Team is here.
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