The NWAC recently announced its all-league honors for spring sports.
Beak baseball lit up the board – nine players and Head Coach Andy Peterson earned honors of some sort. Despite the importance of the Roadrunners playoff run, a collection of individual successes help quantify just how prosperous 2026 was for LBCC.
Peterson was named the 2026 NWAC Coach of the Year. The skipper has completed a three-peat of the award, now having won it a total of four times in his tenure with the Beaks. It’s undeniable that with his continued successes and a past of playing at Oregon State, it’s possible that a grander opportunity of some kind could be lining up for Peterson in the next couple offseasons, if not this one.
The Roadrunners had three first-team selections – Kellen Segel was selected to the first team infield (and second team utility), Cooper Yudishthu was a first-team pitcher and Bryant Starr was selected for infielders as well.
Segel’s season started with a lot of unknowns, coming off Tommy John surgery, which took him out of 2025. The third-year sophomore came in with a true plug-and-play role. He’s platooned a bit with fellow sophomore Seth Willy at second base, he’s played in the outfield, spent time at first, spent time at short – Segel even pitched a bit for the Roadrunners, albeit with limited success.
All things considered, Segel became a weapon for LB as the season marched on. He slashed .313/.376/.810 (good for the third best OPS on the team), while providing a sure glove no matter where they put him and serving as a weapon on the base paths – Segel led the team in stolen bases with 20.
Segel posted a 127 WRC+ in 109 plate appearances in his final season with LB.
Yudishthu had a season filled with ups, before a big down robbed him of his ability to lead the team’s rotation in the playoffs – the freshman tore his UCL in late April. Starting the season as the anchorman of the rotation, Yudishthu lit it up.
Putting up several metrics in the 80th-percentile or higher, the team’s top statistical starter was among the NWAC’s elite in various categories – strikeout percentage (25.3%), WAR (0.6) and ERA (2.58). At season’s end, Yudishthu compiled a 5-0 record.
Starr came in with expectations to be a key sophomore leader and an every game player, and the sophomore shortstop lived up to those expectations. The sophomore provided a sure glove at short and was able to constantly contribute at the plate, his biggest asset being the uncanny ability to almost never strikeout, his 8.2% strikeout percentage sitting in the top fifth-percentile for NWAC players.
Starr slashed .262/.347/.701 and swiped 16 bags. With runners in scoring position, Starr consistently rose to the occasion, putting up an impressive .341 batting average in those situations. The Lebanon product will be one of a few names to pay attention to when it comes time for sophomores to try and find a four-year home.
Team batting champ Mark Carpenter took home the 2026 NWAC Freshman of the Year award to go along with a gold glove for his defensive contributions at third base. Carpenter played in a shared role with Jack Lussier and ended up putting up a monster slash line of .350/.409/.884.
Carpenter was also scorching hot at the exact right time, riding an 11-game hit streak as the Roadrunners entered the playoffs.
Carpenter and fellow freshman Noah Scharer were the lone Beak position players to take home gold gloves. Scharer didn’t receive any other honors, in spite of a monster season where he was often LB’s most consistent hitter – leading the team in plate appearances, RBI, hits and runs. Still, Carpenter and Scharer will be the two most crucial returning players for 2027.
Reliever turned fourth-starter (in place of Yudishthu) Evan Lehnert was honored with the league’s pitching gold glove.
Four Roadrunners were named to the NWAC second team – reliever Dayne Castillo, outfielders Nick Biagi and Jackson Fera and catcher Aiden Hazen (who made second team as a DH).
Dayne Castillo was shut down all year for LB out of the pen. Peterson’s first option, Castillo was someone you could feel confident in toeing the rubber if your team has a lead of any kind.
However, there also were many times where Castillo came in with his team down and laid down a string of dominant innings while his offense subsequently worked. As such, the reliever tied for the team-lead in wins with a 6-1 record, to go along with five saves. Peterson never designated a closer, opting for a bulk-workload approach out of his pen, utilizing Castillo, Jake Johnson, Lehnert and Kyle Miller heavily – only ever calling upon others in specific scenarios.
Castillo finished with a 1.79 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Castillo’s 256 ERA+ led all Roadrunner pitchers. Of any statistic to quantify how important he was to LB, Castillo left 84.9% of runners (either that he allowed or inherited) on base.
Biagi was a critical power bat for the Roadrunners all year, slashing .330/.387/.851 (second in OPS and average). The only knock on Biagi’s season was his somewhat limited usage given it’s his last ride with the team, appearing in only 28 games. The sophomore always showed up when called upon, but was forced to share his time playing in an outfield with an abundance of talent and depth.
The slugging lefty Jackson Fera split his time almost exactly 50/50 between playing out in left and being LB’s designated hitter. He ended his season slashing .235/.368/.721. Fera had a knack for sharpening as the game went on, hitting .357 in the seventh inning or later, and .500 when those situations were tied or one-run ballgames.
Aiden Hazen split time behind the plate with freshman Tyson McGrorty. More often than not, Hazen showed a better bat while McGrorty was the superior defensive backstop. The pair each caught exactly 22 of the 44 games.
Hazen put up a .329/.402/.780 slashline, making him and Carpenter the only two Roadrunners to post an OBP over .400.
