O'FALLON, Mo. – Webster University Baseball had two of its players named to the CarShield Collegiate League All-CCL First Team as voted on by the CCL media department.

The two Gorloks named to the CCL First-Team were junior All-American third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) and senior pitcher Ben Kowalski (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa Township). Swords played this summer for the Falcons, while Kowalski was a member of the Cornbelters.

In 2020, the CarShield Collegiate League was a six-team summer baseball league that played all their games at CarShield Field in O'Fallon, Mo., which is now the home of the O'Fallon Hoots of the Prospect League. The league was formed following the cancellation of the summer baseball season in the Prospect League and the league consisted of players that play either collegiately or professionally and those players were split into six teams that played at least 29 games (two teams in the league played all 30 games) over a span of seven weeks from July 1 through Aug. 14.

Swords earns his spot on the CCL First-Team at third base after hitting .375 in 20 games for the Falcons, who finished in third place in the league standings with a 15-13-1 record. In those 20 games, Swords, who was a Third-Team ABCA/Rawlings All-American in 2019, recorded 18 hits, five doubles, one home run, 7 RBI and scored 18 runs in 48 at-bats and 65 plate appearances. In addition, he was hit by six pitches, drew 11 walks and had an on-base percentage of .538 and an OPS of 1.080. He had six multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4 effort with four runs scored and two doubles against the Cavemen on July 25 and in his last game on Aug. 3 against the Gems, he went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Kowalski earns his spot on the CCL First Team as a pitcher after posting a 2-1 record, had one save and recorded 3.03 ERA in 11 appearances and five starts. He ranked fourth in the league in WHIP (1.39) and ERA (3.03) and was fifth in strikeouts with 28. In 32.1 innings of work, Kowalski allowed 28 hits, 14 runs, 14 earned runs, walked 17 and struck out 28. During the season, he pitched four or more innings four times, including a season high 5.2 innings in his final start of the summer on Aug. 11 against the Eagles. Recorded a season high eight strikeouts on July 26 against the Eagles and had four outings of allowing one of less runs. The Cornbelters finished in second place in the league with a 15-12-2 record.

In addition to Swords and Kowalski, five other Gorloks played this summer in the CarShield Collegiate League as junior pitcher Bobby Strandt (Frisco, Texas/University of Arkansas) played with the Cornbelters, sophomore-to-be infielder Mitch Daniels (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) played with the Cavemen, junior shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) played for the Hoots, senior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) played for the Eagles and graduate student Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) pitched two games late in the summer for the Falcons.

Strandt made seven appearances and three starts on the mound for the Cornbelters and on the summer, he compiled a 2-0 record and had a 4.20 ERA. In 16.2 innings of work, he allowed 23 hits, 12 runs, 10 earned runs, while striking out 19 and walking eight. He also posted a WHIP of 1.86 and had two or more strikeouts in five of his seven appearances, including a season high seven strikeouts in his final outing on Aug. 12 against the Falcons. In that game, he pitched six innings and allowed five hits and one run, while walking two and fanning seven to help the Cornbelters to a 7-5 win.

Daniels, who played multiple positions with the Cavemen, saw action in 21 games and had 64 at-bats and on the summer, he hit .250 with 16 hits, one double, one triple, six RBI and scored seven runs. In addition, he drew seven walks, posted an on-base percentage of .319 and an OPS of .616 and was 2-for-2 on stolen bases. He had three two-hit games on the season, including back-to-back two hits games against the Gems and Falcons on July 23 and July 25. The Cavemen posted a 12-14-4 record on the summer.

Staker, who saw action at third base, shortstop and second base for the Hoots, played in 19 games and had 43 at-bats on the summer. In those 19 games, he hit .163 with seven hits, six runs scored, one double and one RBI. In addition, he drew five walks and was hit by three pitches and committed just one error in 39 fielding chances. He also had 27 assists and turned four double plays for the Hoots, who posted the best record in the league at 15-11-3.

Hopp, who will be returning to play for the Gorloks in 2021 after having his 2020 senior campaign cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, played in 20 games this summer for the Eagles and in those 20 games, he had 49 at-bats and hit .224 with 11 hits, nine runs scored, one double and 5 RBI. In addition, he walked 15 times, was hit by a pitch two times and posted an on-base percentage of .424 and had an OBP of .669. Additionally, he was 9-for-12 on stolen bases. He had three two-hit games and walked at least two times in four games, including a season high three walks against the Cavemen on July 27. The Eagles posted a 15-15-0 record on the season.

Mulhearn, who was named a Third-Team ABCA/Rawlings and an Honorable Mention D3Baseball.com All-American in 2019, pitched two times near the end of the summer for the Falcons. In those two appearances, he tossed a total of seven innings and recorded an 0-0 record and an 1.00 ERA. He finished with seven strikeouts, four walks and allowed three hits and two runs (one earned run). In his first appearance on Aug. 6 against the Hoots, Mulhearn tossed two innings in relief and allowed two hits and one run, while walking two and striking out one and then he started on Aug. 13 against the Eagles and went five innings and allowed one hit and one unearned run, while walking two and striking out six.

During the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020, Webster finished with an 8-5 overall record and ended the season by winning its last three games, including concluding its Florida spring break trip with a 5-2 record. The Gorloks opened the 2020 season ranked No. 2 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball and D3Baseball.com Preseason polls.