The top two individual catalysts - senior co-captain Will Dahlgren and junior shortstop Tyler Erickson - for the 2010 University of Minnesota Duluth baseball team continued their personal awards haul recently, with each receiving central region honors from among three different organizations.
Both Bulldogs were cited as Daktronics Baseball Central Region honorees, with Erickson (a three-year regular from Alexandria, Minn.) holding down the shortstop spot on the first team and Dahlgren (a Burnsville, Minn., native) owning one of the three outfield slots on the second team.
Announced the same day - Thursday, May 13 - was the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association Central Region Teams. Erickson was selected to both the 16-member second team as well as the Gold Glove second team. Dahlgren joined his UMD teammate on the Gold Glove second team.
The final organization that hands out NCAA Division II baseball regional awards - the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association - released its Central All-Region awards on Tuesday, May 18 and NCBWA members chose to include Erickson among the region's best, tabbing him as a first team performer.
Six club single-season marks fell at Erickson's feet in 2010, including fielding assists (164), at bats (223), hits (94), runs scored (77), games played and started (56). The native of Alexandria, Minn., also recorded a program-best 29-game hitting streak in 2010, reaching base safely in all but two games this season overall. The three-year regular also notched 24 multi-hit games and had 12 with three or more hits. Erickson paced the Bulldogs in multiple offensive categories including batting average (.422), on-base percentage (.486), runs scored, hits, triples (four), stolen bases (20), plate appearances (255) and at bats. Erickson also received All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team honors this season.
Dahlgren put the exclamation point on a productive two-year stint in a Bulldog jersey by batting .368 while topping the Bulldogs in home runs (10), total bases (121 -- 10 shy of the school record) and slugging percentage (.653) while also setting a new single-season school record for runs batted in, with 71. He and Erickson were the lone two Bulldogs to start in all 56 games this spring. The Burnsville, Minn., product and Dakota County Tech College transfer was also a member of the All-NSIC second team this season.
UMD finished the 2010 season with a 36-20 overall record and a 22-10 mark in NSIC play. The 36 wins tied a school record for victories in a season.
Daktronics All-Central Region Release
Rawlings/ABCA Central Region Teams
Rawlings/ABCA Central Region Gold Glove
NCBWA Central All-Region Release
