MARSHALL, Minn.: The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team has announced its team award winners for the 2009 season.  The members of the Mustang team selected the awards with junior first baseman Andrew Kinney headlining the list, earning the team's most valuable player award.

Junior right-handed pitcher Adam Schrader was named most valuable pitcher for the second straight season, while senior second baseman Greg Laughlin was named the team's best defensive player.  The final award went to senior outfielder Derek West, who earned the Mustang Award, which goes to a player who best exemplifies the character, spirit, dedication, hard work and enthusiasm for SMSU baseball.

Kinney, a native of Coon Rapids, Minn., led SMSU with 17 home runs, tying the school record for a single-season.  He also led the squad in both slugging pct. (.803) and RBI (55) and ranked second in runs scored (52).  Kinney finished third on the team with a .408 batting average and also added seven doubles, two triples and five stolen bases.  He led the team in multi-hit games with 22 and also led in multi-RBI games with 15.

Kinney will enter his senior season in 2010 ranking near the top in several categories in the school record book.  He is second in slugging pct. (.699), third in home runs (33), seventh in RBI (133), 10th in batting average (.365) and 12th in total bases (.274).

Schrader, a native of Easton, Minn., finished with a 5-1 record and a team-low 3.88 ERA.  The team's No. 1 starter, he tied for the team lead in starts with 10, pitched a team-high 60.1 innings and recorded a team-high 67 strikeouts, ranking as the fifth highest for one season in school history.  He also led the squad with three complete games and held opponents' to a .231 batting average against, the lowest by any Mustang starting pitcher.  On May 7, Schrader set an SMSU single-game record recording 15 strikeouts versus Winona State at the NSIC Tournament in St. Cloud, Minn.

Laughlin, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., started 42 games and finished with a .984 fielding percentage with 113 assists, 76 putouts and just three errors.  As a hitter, Laughlin batted .351 with 11 doubles, three triples and 35 RBI.  He finished his career as the school's all-time hits leader with 213.

West, a senior outfielder from Chamberlain, S.D., played on the SMSU junior varsity team in 2005 and missed most of the 2006 season with an injury and received a medical redshirt.  This season, West finished the year leading the Mustangs with a .417 batting average, while ranking third in home runs (9), RBI (41), hits (60) and total bases (101).  His .417 batting average ranks as the sixth highest in one season in school history.  He also had eight doubles, three triples and eight stolen bases and tied for the team-lead with 19 bases on balls.  West finished the season ranking third on the team with 19 multi-hit games and third in multi-RBI games with 14.
 
West finished his career at SMSU ranking high in the school record book including fourth in batting average (.374), ninth in slugging pct. (.596), ninth in on-base pct. (.460) and tied for 15th in home runs (16).

Southwest Minnesota State University is a member of NCAA Division II and is located in Marshall, Minn.  SMSU finished the 2009 season 28-15 overall and advanced to the program's first-ever NCAA?Regional Tournament.