St. Cloud State Baseball head coach Pat Dolan announced his program's four captains ahead of the 2021 season. Senior Shannon Ahern will serve as a captain for the second time in his career, while junior Riley Ahern joins him in his first Huskies captaincy.
Shannon Ahern has long been one of St. Cloud State's most trusted arms in a variety of roles, having made 50 appearances with 14 starts during his four-year Huskies career. He has 14 collegiate wins to his credit along with three saves, working 156.0 innings to the tune of a 4.33 ERA and a stellar 3.33 FIP (fielding independent pitching) along with a 137:37 K:BB ratio. Ahern posted a brilliant 2019 campaign, going 3-3 in 19 appearances and three starts with a 2.91 ERA and a 2.65 FIP over 46.1 frames. He struck out 29.1% of the batters he faced (55 K's) and limited his opponents to a meager .582 OPS. Last season Ahern earned the win in all three of his relief appearances, recording a 2.63 ERA/2.22 FIP and striking out 15 across 13.2 innings. Ahern was a 2020 NSIC All-Academic Team member.
"I'm excited to help lead the Huskies with Jake, Matt and Riley," said Shannon, "We can't wait to get back out on the field in a month or so and bring a championship home at the end of the year."
Riley Ahern has quickly established himself as an extremely reliable arm, owning a 2.68 ERA over 18 career appearances and four starts through two seasons with St. Cloud State. Ahern's debut redshirt-freshman 2019 season saw the right-hander become one of the very best relievers in the Central Region as he worked 32.1 innings across 15 appearances and worked at a 1.95 ERA/1.96 FIP. He struck out 38, walked just nine, operated at a 0.959 WHIP and limited hitters to a .198/.280/.225 slash line for a .505 opponent OPS. Last season Ahern went 1-0 over three starts, striking out 19 and walking only three over 14.2 frames. Ahern was a 2020 NSIC All-Academic Team member and named to the 2020 NSIC Academic Team of Distinction.
"We have a great group of guys that are really close so it means a lot to me that they would vote for me," said Riley, "I'm looking forward to getting out on the field with them!"
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