HILLSBORO, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College baseball placed a program-record nine players on the Northwest Conference All-Conference Teams, the NWC league office announced on Thursday afternoon. 
 
Senior catcher Justin Cavagnaro, sophomore third baseman Michael Aikawa and junior relief pitcher Nate Kerr all were named to the NWC First Team. Senior first baseman Will Heron and senior center fielder Brennen Davis each earned their second career NWC All-Conference Second Team honors. Junior shortstop Brandon Gonzaga, junior designated hitter Joaquin Sandoval, sophomore utility player Bret Potter and sophomore starting pitcher Caden Hodina all carved out spots on the NWC Honorable Mention Team. 
 
The Pioneers nine All-Conference players are their most in program history. The 2023 team, which won the Northwest Conference Tournament Title, had seven players and head coach Matt Kosderka (NWC Coach of the Year) honored. The Pioneers matched the 2023 team with three players on the NWC First Team – the most for the program this century. Seven of Lewis & Clark's nine honorees were honored for the first time. 
 
Cavagnaro earned the first All-Conference accolades of his career, after posting new career-highs in nearly offensive category. The senior started in 36 of 39 contests and appeared in all but one of the team's games. He delivered new career-highs in batting average (.314), on-base percentage (.395), slugging percentage (.453), hits (43), runs scored (24), runs batted in (32), doubles (13) and home runs (two). Cavagnaro posted a 1.000 fielding percentage and threw out seven of 32 runners trying to steal bases (21.9 percent). He sits second on the team and tied for second in the conference in doubles and tied for third in the NWC in runners caught stealing. The senior catcher posted multiple hits 12 times and multiple RBI nine times. He hit his first collegiate grand slam and posted a career-high five RBI on February 16, in a road win over Whittier College.
 
Aikawa picked up his first collegiate All-Conference honors, after putting together a breakout sophomore campaign. The Pioneers third baseman started in 38 contests and led the team in: batting average (.372), on-base percentage (.483), hits (54), doubles (14) and walks (25). He tacked on 35 runs scored, 37 runs batted in (second on the team), 82 total bases (second), .566 slugging percentage (second) and nine stolen bases (third). Aikawa finished the regular-season in the top-10 of the conference in doubles (first), on-base percentage (second), hits (third), total bases (fifth), walks (fifth), runs batted in (sixth) and batting average (seventh). He finished his sophomore year seventh in program history for doubles in a single-season and 13^thin hits and RBI. Aikawa hit safely in 33 of 38 games and posted hitting streaks of nine games, six games and 13 games. He recorded 15 multiple-hit contests and 11 games with multiple RBI. Aikawa went 6-7 with two runs, two RBI, three doubles and two walks, in a non-conference sweep of Willamtte University on February 22.  
 
Kerr was the third Pioneer to earn First Team All-Conference accolades. The junior reliever was rewarded with his first career All-Conference honors after leading the Pioneers bullpen in his third season. He led the Pioneers bullpen in nearly every category. Kerr appeared in 14 contest (second on the team) and went 3-2 with a team-high three saves. He posted a team-best 1.72 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched. Kerr struck out 21 batters against just six walks and held opposing batters to a .196 batting average. His 1.72 ERA is the third-best in program history for a single-season and he tied for 13^th for saves in a campaign. The junior threw at least one inning in all 14 of his outings and over an inning 12 times. Kerr did not allow an earned run to score in 10 of his 14 appearances. He earned his first collegiate save on March 24, when he threw three 1-2-3 innings, to combine with senior Luke Ritter on a one-hit shutout win over Whitman College.
 
Heron earned the second All-Conference plaudits of his career after putting together a career-year as a senior. The first baseman paced the team with 14 home runs, 41 RBI and 100 total bases. He ended the year second on the team with a .369 batting average, .449 on-base percentage and 52 hits. Heron posted a .997 fielding percentage with 294 putouts, 11 assists and just one error. He finished the season second in the NWC in home runs, third in slugging percentage, total bases and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.158), fourth in hits and RBI, sixth in runs scored (39) and eighth in batting average. Heron ranks 11^th in NCAA DIII in home runs and 13^th in home runs per game (0.37). He finished out his senior campaign tied for third in program history for home runs in a season and tied for eighth in RBI. For his career, Heron ranks sixth in program history in career RBI (123) and walks (81), tied for sixth in games played (149), eighth in home runs (21), tied for 11^th in at-bats (519) and hits (160). Heron put together the best game of his career on February 16, when he tied the NCAA DIII record with four home runs in an 11-4 win over Whittier College.  
 
Davis was named to the NWC All-Conference Team for the third-straight year. He earned Second Team honors for the second-straight season, after being named to the First Team in 2023. The senior center fielder started in 38 games and finished in the top-three on the team with: 40 runs (second), 34 RBI (third), nine home run (second), eight doubles (third), a .564 slugging percentage (third) and 23 walks (second). He wrapped up the year in the top-10 in the NWC in home runs (tied for sixth), RBI (10^th) and walks (10^th). Davis finished his career third in program history in home runs (29), fourth in runs (140), fifth in doubles (39) and RBI (129), ninth in walks (75), tied for ninth in at-bats (520) and 10^th in hits (161) and hit by pitches (17). Davis put together the best game of his career on April 25. He went 4-4 with five runs, five RBI, a double, a homer and two walks in a conference win over Willamette.  
 
Gonzaga earned his first career All-Conference honors, after recording career-highs in nearly every offensive category. The junior shortstop hit .283 with 49 hits (third on the team), 42 runs (first), 23 RBI, five doubles and two home runs. He led the Pioneers by swiping 23 bases in 28 attempts. Gonzaga also led the team with 100 assists and posted a .944 fielding percentage. He finished second in the NWC in stolen bases and runs scored and eighth in hits. The junior posted 15 multiple-hit games and three contests with multiple RBI. He concluded the season fourth in program history for stolen bases in a single-season and tied for 10^th in runs scored. Gonzaga enjoyed the best game of his season on April 15 against Warner Pacific University. He went 4-6 with two runs, one RBI, a double and four steals in four attempts. 
 
Sandoval picked up his first career All-Conference honors after splitting time as a designated hitter and catcher. The junior played in a career-high 37 games and made 35 starts. He posted career-highs in hits (31), runs scored (33), RBI (27), home runs (seven), doubles (six), walks (18) and hit by pitches (five). While he was recognized for his performance as a designated hitter, Sandoval also posted a .992 fielding percentage with 110 putouts and 14 assists. He finished the season eighth in the NWC in home runs and 11^th in runs scored. Sandoval posted eight multiple-hit games and 10 multi-RBI contests. He hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10^th inning against Willamette University on March 16. 
 
Potter was named an All-Conference Utility selection after starting in right field and serving as one of the Pioneers top relievers. The sophomore started in all 39 games and made 10 appearances out of pen. He finished the season hitting .305 with 40 hits, 21 runs, 18 RBI, eight extra-base hits, eight hit by pitches (first on the team) and 10 stolen bases (second). On the mound, Potter posted a 2.38 ERA (second on the team). He went 1-0 with two saves in 11.1 innings pitched and struck out 14 batters. Potter wrapped up the season tied for 12^th in the conference in stolen bases and hit by pitches. He posted 11 games with multiple hits and hit safely in 25 total games. The sophomore threw a career-high 2.1 innings and allowed one walk and no hits, on April 19 against NWC Regular Season Champion Pacific University. 
 
Hodina became the fourth Pioneers starting pitcher to earn All-Conference honors in the past three seasons. The sophomore righty led the team and finished tied for fifth in the conference with his five victories (5-2). Hodina made 11 starts and posted a 5.84 ERA in 57.0 innings pitched. He struck out 47 batters against 36 walks and held opponents to a .283 batting average. The righty threw at least 4.2 innings in every start and five or more innings eight times. Hodina struck out five or more batters four times, including posting seven punchouts twice. During his best stretch of the season, Hodina allowed two earned runs or fewer over four starts between March 29-April 19. In those four starts, he posted a combined 2.61 ERA with starts against the University of Puget Sound (NWC Tournament Team), Pomona-Pitzer College (nationally-ranked), George Fox University and NWC Regular Season Champion Pacific University.