By Mike Walsh
Correspondent
Howie Hatton, a Riverside-Brookfield graduate now attending and playing baseball at Crown College (Minnesota), was named the 2023 Player of the Year by the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
The senior right fielder also was also chosen to the All-UMAC First Team, the 2023 Division3.com First Team All-Region, and 2023 American Baseball Coaches Association First Team All-Region for Region IX.
Hatton batted .486 last season with 67 hits, 49 runs, 10 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 55 RBI. He had an OBP .551, a slugging percentage of .746 (1.297 OPS) and stole 11 bases in 12 attempts.
Hatton finished fourth in Division III in batting average and set Crown College single-season records in batting average and on-base percentage. Hatton appeared in 39 games (37 starts) this season for the Polars (22-20 overall, 14-7 UMAC).
Fremouw Honored
North Park University men’s track and field athlete Clark Fremouw has been honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as an All-Academic Athlete for the 2022-23 school year.
Fremouw, a Chicago Christian alum, is a senior who is majoring in exercise sports science.
Fremouw also earned a place on the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin’s Dave Wrath Academic All-Conference Team.
Dynamic Duo
Bethel University track and field athlete Gabe Kuecker and Saint Mary’s University softball player Michelle Smith were named to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s 2022-23 Winter and Spring Academic All-Conference list.
Kuecker is a graduate of Chicago Christian. Smith is a Mother McAuley alum.