Justin Aungst, who was the Morning Call Player of the Year when he was at Saslisbury High School and the St. Joseph's University Pitcher of the Year when he was at the D-1 school, has earned another distinction: Lehigh Valley Baseball League Premier Division MVP.
Aungst, of the Salisbury Falcons, earned the most first-place votes of three Premier palyers who earned first-place votes. Eight Premier players received MVP votes overall.
Falcons Manager Brad Vangeli revealed some behind-the-scenes tidbits about Aungst, including that Aungst from his shortstop position often helped younger pitchers with their strategy and that he talked his way into playing the final month through a hamstring injury.
"He has a great mind for the game that people from the outside may not appreciate. ... Outside of the skills that are obvious to everyone, he is a great teammate that is competitive and enjoys the game. He makes playing on his team a lot of fun. He made an impact all season in the field, on the mound and at the plate, which is the ideal recipe for success for an MVP," Vangeli said.
Mike Kromar, the Alpha Braves slugger who had a three-game home run streak on his way to the league home run crown, finished second in the voting. Nick Gattuso of the Cardinals, who caught fire in the season's final month to capture the league batting title, finished third.
Aungst has garnered plaudits at every stop on his baseball journey. The Morning Call named him the Lehigh Valley's top high school baseball player in 2013, his junior season, when he performed double duty as the high school's cleanup hitter and staff ace.
St. Joseph's University named Aungst its Pitcher of the Year in 2015, the same season he was named to Philadelphia's All Big-5 Team composed of the top players at St. Joe's, Temple, Villanova, and La Salle universities.
The LVBL MVP is awarded to the top performer in a division based on all facets of the game, including batting, fielding, pitching, and sportsmanship.
The latest honor for Aungst came again as a result of double duty excellence; he has been a two-way player at every stop.
Aungst the pitcher led the league in wins, innings and strikeouts, all by a wide margin, and captured the Premier Division Cy Young Award. Aungst the batter had a top 20 batting average, reached base in every game but one, and hit one home run -- a three-run shot in his final at bat of the season to break open the game where the Falcons clinched the Premier Division championship.
Vangeli called it "the perfect way to wrap up our season." Now Aungst has put a bow on it in the form of the LVBL Premier Division MVP Award.
