BVU Athletics Announces Class of 2022 Hall of Fame Selections
Banquet planned for Siebens Forum on Sept. 30, one night before Homecoming football game
The Buena Vista University (BVU) Athletics Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to announce the inductees for the BVU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022: Sam (Meier) Larson ’86, Rick Caldwell ’90, Brad Rohwer ’91, Deborah Zorn ’02, Brandon Pietrzyk ’11, and the 1968 Buena Vista Baseball Team.
This Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will be officially enshrined on Friday, Sept. 30, during a formal banquet that evening in Siebens Forum. The group will then be recognized during halftime of the Beaver Homecoming football game versus the University of Dubuque the following afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 1. Kickoff on Peterson Field inside J. Leslie Rollins Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Sam (Meier) Larson is being inducted posthumously. Larson was a stand-out pitcher for the Buena Vista softball team from 1983-86, posting a career 34-15 mark with two saves inside the circle. She pitched in 250 innings during her career with a career earned run average (ERA) of 0.90, a mark that remains the best all-time in program history. Larson was a First Team All-Iowa Conference selection in 1984 and 1985 and an All-West Region selection in 1985. She went 8-2 with one save and helped lead the team to the NCAA Division III National Softball Championship as a sophomore in 1984.
Rick Caldwell wrestled for the Beavers from 1985-1990. Caldwell captured an Iowa Conference individual championship at 190 pounds his senior campaign and went on to place third at the NCAA Division III National Championships that season after having placed eighth as a junior. He went a combined 60-21 over his final two years and finished his career with an overall record of 85-46-3. Caldwell, who was also named a Scholar All-American as a senior, was a member of three Iowa Conference team titles.
Brad Rohwer was a four-year starter on the Buena Vista men’s basketball team from 1987-91. Rohwer was voted as the team’s Most Improved Player as a freshman and then went on to become a three-time team MVP and a two-year captain. He topped 1,500 points for his career and shot better than 61 percent from the field, all-time. Defensively, he grabbed 650-plus rebounds and collected more than 130 steals. Rohwer earned all-conference accolades in each of his final three campaigns.
Deborah Zorn was a four-year standout golfer on the BVU women’s golf team from 1998-2001. She was a four-year all-conference golfer and a three-time Iowa Conference MVP. As a sophomore in 1999, Zorn finished second at the Iowa Conference Championships, was named IIAC MVP and went on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. As a senior in 2001, she captured the individual IIAC title and was named MVP for the third straight year while also helping lead the Beavers to their second straight IIAC team title. She played in more than 70 total rounds in her career, finished with a scoring average of 84.27, and totaled nine individual medalist honors.
Brandon Pietrzyk was a three-year member of the Buena Vista baseball team (2008-2010). A career .379 hitter, Pietrzyk posted a .676 career slugging percentage in more than 440 at-bats. His 29 career home runs rank third all-time in program history, while he also chalked up 33 doubles and 304 total bases. Pietrzyk connected for 12 home runs during his first season on campus, which still ranks third in single-season history. He still holds the program’s single-season mark with 60 runs batted in (RBI) as a senior in 2010. Pietrzyk was a three-time First Team All-Iowa Conference selection and was a Second Team All-American by D3baseball.com as a junior in 2009.
The 1968 Buena Vista baseball team, led by the late BVU Hall of Fame Coach, Jay Beekmann ’42, is the fifth team to be enshrined into the BVU Athletics Hall of Fame. The team posted a 22-7 overall record (8-2 in conference play) and finished second in the league standings. The Beavers would go on to qualify for the NAIA College World Series thanks to a home run in the ninth inning off the bat of the late BVU Hall of Famer, Larry Biittner, to defeat Winona State in a game played in Storm Lake. The team, however, would come up just short in its first two World Series contests. Biittner hit .357 on the year and was the top hitter for a team that hit .345 overall, which still sits as the second-best single-season mark for a team in program history. The Beavers also posted 17 triples and blasted 31 home runs that season, a pair of marks that remain in the top five all-time at BVU. Bittner was also 8-0 on the mound for the Beavers with a 0.91 ERA. Bittner, along with junior Doug Smith and freshman Pat McMullen, were named to the all-conference team. Biittner was later named a Second Team All-American.