WCU Standout Wendle Named Performer of the Year

The following is a press release from the West Chester Area School District.

One more collegiate accolade for West Chester University senior Joe Wendle before he embarks on his professional baseball career.  Wendle has been voted the 2012 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Baseball Performer of the Year.
 
Wendle joins 11 other student-athletes on the 2012 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Baseball Team, which is selected through voting conducted by the sports information offices of the 28 institutions in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area.
 
In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area honors, an athlete must be in at least his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better.
 
Wendle was the PSAC Eastern Division player of the year and was named the All-Atlantic Region first team as he led the Golden Rams to their first national championship at the NCAA Division II College World Series on June 2. Wendle won the proverbial “triple crown” in the PSAC, leading the conference in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in this season, and was a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award, given to the Division II national player of the year. He was drafted in the sixth round of the MLB Entry Draft by the Cleveland Indians three days after winning the national title.
 
A pre-physical therapy major, Wendle was named to the 2012 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America squad this season. He is an eight-time WCU Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll and Dean’s List honoree, and was named to the PSAC Academic Honor Roll three times.
 
Wendle is joined on the squad by his teammate Fred Breidenbach who was also a CoSIDA/Capital One Academ All-District 2 selection for his 3.77 cumulative GPA in Exercise Science. Breidenbach finished the year 9-2 overall with a 3.22 ERA. He tossed a complete-game, six-hitter in the semifinals of the College World Series, leading West Chester to a 2-1 victory over Catawba (N.C.).