Former Pomona-Pitzer baseball standout Drew Hedman has been named Carolina League Player of the Week.

Hedman hit .364 (8-for-22) with three doubles, two triples, a home run, six RBI and three walks. Hedman, who plays for the Boston Red Sox affiliate in Salem took his league’s honor mostly because of his three-hit, two-triple line on Saturday against Potomac.

This after he had a total of three triples in his first three seasons as a pro.

Junior Annie Lydens was named the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week for the third time this season while sophomore forward Jake Klewer of the men’s basketball team earned the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week honor for the first time in his career.

Lydens earned this week’s honor after recording the best finish for a Pomona-Pitzer Cross Country athlete (male or female) in the history of the Division III Championships. Lydens finished third overall at nationals, breaking the previous best of fifth-place set by Crosby Freeman at the 2004 Men’s National Championships and her own high mark of ninth-place on the women’s side, which she set last year.

In addition, Lydens also broke the program record in the 6K, crossing the line with a time of 21.02, which was 25 seconds faster than she ran last year on her way to a ninth-place finish. She easily earned All-America honors with her performance (the top 35 finishers earn All-America distinction) and has now been named an All-American three times, including once in Outdoor Track and Field after finishing second at the nationals in the 5000 meters last spring.

Lydens did not start competing competitively in distance events until her sophomore year, and has responded with three top-10 finishes in her first three seasons. As a freshman, she only competed in one cross country race due to a foot injury, and then competed in the middle-distance (800 meters) during track season.

Lydens, who also carries a 4.0 grade point average at Pomona, plans to compete in both the 1500 and the 5000 meters this spring, and is expected to be in the hunt for national championships in both events.

Klewer, meanwhile, had an exceptional performance in a double-overtime loss to defending national champion St. Thomas (Minn.) on Saturday. He finished with game-highs of 23 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 10-14 from the floor as the Sagehens nearly pulled off the upset, leading by five with 30 seconds to go in regulation. The 23 points established a new career high as well, surpassing the 21 he had last year in a home win over Caltech.

Klewer had 14 of his points in the second half, including eight straight for the Sagehens during one stretch when he helped his team pull rally from a nine-point deficit to pull even at 49-49 with 6:30 to go. He also had a key baseline spin move for a lay-up to put Pomona-Pitzer ahead by three in overtime, before the Tommies tied it on a three-point shot with just over a minute to play.

Senior guard James Lambert was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 first team in a vote of the district’s sports information directors.

Lambert, who carries a 3.93 grade point average as an economics major, is now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced in December.

As one of the team co-captains, Lambert has had a key role in this season in blocking for junior running back Luke Sweeney who leads the nation (Division III) in rushing by over 20 yards with 182.4 yards per game. Lambert and his line-mates have paved the way for Sweeney to set both single-game (265) and single-season (1,277) rushing records in the 119-year history of Sagehen Football.

In fact, over his career, Lambert has blocked for Pomona-Pitzer’s all-time leading passer (Jake Caron) and receiver (R.J. Maki), in addition to Sweeney’s records this season.

Lambert and the Pomona-Pitzer offensive line have been equally effective this season with their pass protection as in opening holes for Sweeney. The Sagehens have allowed only 11 sacks all year in 263 total passing plays.

Lambert and the Sagehens finish their 2011 season when they travel across Sixth Street to take on neighboring rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the annual Peace Pipe game.
 
 

Junior Annie Lydens was named the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week (all sports) for the second time this fall, it was announced today by the conference office.

Lydens earned the honor after winning the SCIAC Women’s Cross Country Championship on Saturday at Prado Park in Chino, finishing with a time of 23:11, which was 25 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

After winning the race, Lydens also received the 2011 SCIAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year honor for the second straight season, as a result of her combined performances in the SCIAC Mutli-Duals on Oct. 15 and the conference championship on Saturday. At the Multi-Duals, Lydens finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

In fact, Lydens competed in three races in the month of October and won all three handily, including a personal-best time of 21:03 at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Oct. 1 (pictured).

An All-American in both cross country and outdoor track last season, Lydens will try to defend her NCAA Division III West Region championship when she returns to action on Nov. 12 in a race that will be held on her home course.

The NCAA Division III nationals will be Nov. 19 in Wisconsin, where she will try to improve on her ninth-place finish last fall. She also finished second in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championships in May.

Former Pomona-Pitzer quarterback Jake Caron has signed with the Utah Flash of the Arena Football League.

Caron, 21, finished his eligibility after the 2010 season. This season he has been serving as a quarterbacks coach for the Sagehens, coached by father Roger.

As a player Caron set school records for career total yardage (9,225), passing yardage (8,408) and completions (651). As a senior, he earned the Daley Award which recognizes outstanding athletic achievement. He ended his career as the number 10 ranked passer in NCAA Division III football.

Caron, a Claremont resident, said the NFL lockout made it difficult to pursue professional opportunities. He had planned on playing with the Hartford entry of the United Football League but that team folded a week before he was to leave.

“I’m excited about the opportunity. I’m in great shape so I am ready top go,” he said. “Obviously it is different, being a shorter field in a confined space, things happen a lot quicker.”

Caron will leave for training camp in February with the season starting a month later.

Former Pomona-Pitzer baseball standout David Colvin is in his first year as a professional and is now pitching for the Seattle Mariners Rookie-League affiliate in Pulaski, Va.

Colvin, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-hander, is coming out of the bullpen for the team which is 19-22 overall. He has appeared in nine games, eight of those as a reliever. In 18 innings he has given up 16 hits, two earned runs and five walks with 17 strikeouts.

Colvin was drafted in the 27th round by the Seattle Mariners. He finished his career as the Pomona-Pitzer leader in wins with 35, strikeouts with 302, innings pitched with 369 and highest winning percentage at .833.

He also holds the single season record for strikeouts with 107 and shares the single season win record with 10 in 2010. He was named Second Team All-SCIAC in 2008 and First Team All-SCIAC in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He was named First Team All-West Region in 2010 and Second Team All-West Region in 2009 and 2011 and named Second Team All-American in 2010.

The University of Redlands seized control of the SCIAC baseball race with a 7-6 win over the University of La Verne. The Bulldogs (25-8, 19-5) now have a two-game lead over La Verne (22-13, 17-7) and a three-game over Cal Lutheran (22-14, 16-8) and they won head-to-head series against both in the case of a tie,

The University of Redlands chalked up a 21-10 win over East Texas Baptist this morning in its season debut. It was a good win for the Bulldogs over an opponent that picked up a quality win last week.

The Bulldogs got an efficient performance from senior quarterback Dan Sewlay who went 18 of 24 for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Coach Mike Maynard has said he will use other quarterbacks this season because he has to prepare for life after Selway. Well that came earlier than he even planned as Selway was sidelined with cramps early in the third quarter in the stifling humidity.

Sophomore Chad Hurst came in and directed a drive that put the Bulldogs a 21-3 lead.

Evan Reuter and David Metcalf proved to be the top targets.

On defense Redlands faced a tough task in trying to stop ETBU’s scrambling quarterback Sed Harris. The Bulldogs gave up some big plays but did an admirable job. Maynard credit Andrew Carreon, Spencer Minshew, Alex Ouji and Brad Hutter.

Punter Wes Norris averaged 51.4 yards on five kicks and Mike Nicolini had a big interception in the first half.

Meanwhile Pomona-Pitzer lost to Whitworth (Wash.) 35-7 at home. The Sagehens gave up 21 quick points in the last three minutes and was not in striking distance again. The defense is looking suspect, having given up 562 yards. That will be a big problem!