Tusculum, Wingate Players Named To NCBWA All-America Baseball Team

Slippery Rock, Pa.-- Five South Atlantic Conference baseball players, including four from league champion Tusculum, have been named to the 2007 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II All-America Team.

For Tusculum, junior Maikol Gonzalez was named the First Team second baseman, while senior lefthander Kevin Hammons was tabbed a Second Team starting pitcher. Juniors Carlos Rivera and Christian Rosa garnered All-America Honorable Mention recognition.

Wingate University senior designated hitter Josh Benton (Gold Hill, N.C.) was named to the third team. Benton has earned All-American honors from the ABCA (third team) and Daktronics (honorable mention).

Maikol Gonzalez

Kevin Hammons

Josh Benton

Carlos Rivera

Christian Rosa

Gonzalez, Hammons and Rivera earn their second All-America accolade this season, while Rosa becomes the ninth player in school history to earn All-America distinction on the diamond and eighth during the Coach Doug Jones' era.

Gonzalez, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, batted .444 for the Pioneers while also being named to the Daktronics All-America First Team last month. He was tabbed the Daktronics South Region Player of the Year and the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and has garnered All-Region First Team honors from three organizations (Daktronics, American Baseball Coaches Association and NCBWA). Gonzalez leads the nation with 14 triples to go along with 65 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. At last month's NCAA South Regional Tournament, he batted .429 with three RBI as the Pioneers finished third in the six-team regional. For his efforts, he was named to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team.

Hammons, a product of Jonesborough, Tenn. posted a 9-1 record with a 2.77 earned run average. Hammons, who was named to the Daktronics All-America Second Team, struck out 80 batters and walked just 23 in 74.2 innings this year. He was named the Daktronics South Region and SAC Pitcher of the Year, while also being selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First Team.

Rivera adds this All-America honor to go along with last week's announcement of his being named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team. Rivera, an outfielder from Leesburg, Va., established a new school and conference record with 101 hits this season. The All-South Region First Team pick (Daktronics, ABCA, NCBWA) finished second on the team hitting .398, including .444 at the NCAA South Regional. In Tusculum's 7-6 regional win over Florida Gulf Coast, Rivera went 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles, earning him a spot on the South Region All-Tournament squad. The All-SAC First Team honoree finished third on the team with 59 RBI and second with 23 stolen bases.

Rosa, a catcher from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, finished second on the TC team with 63 RBI and accounted for 13 doubles, three triples and team-high nine home runs. He also established a new school single-season record with 29 stolen bases. Rosa earned All-Region recognition three times this year and was tabbed to the All-SAC First Team.

The Pioneers accounted for their best season in school history as TC finished with a 50-14 record. The 50 wins are the most in school and South Atlantic Conference history as Tusculum was one of only seven schools in Division II to post 50 or more victories. The Pioneers won their third straight SAC Championship while advancing to the NCAA II Tournament for the third time in five years. The Pioneers established numerous school records including a TC and SAC best 23-game winning streak.

Wingate's 2007 team MVP, Benton led the Bulldogs with 82 hits, 18 doubles, 14 home runs, 58 RBI, 25 walks, 144 total bases, .364 batting average, .640 slugging percentage and seven sacrifice flies. In addition, Benton had 48 runs scored, one triple and four stolen bases. In the final SAC statistical rankings, Benton was third in doubles, third in home runs, third in total bases (144), fourth in hits and fifth in RBI.

Benton continually came up big for the Bulldogs late in games. During the 2007 season, he batted at a .452 clip in the sixth inning or later, connecting for 42 hits in 93 at bats. Also, he had 11 home runs, eight doubles and 30 RBI in the sixth inning or later.

On the mound, Benton compiled a 3-2 overall pitching record during the 2007 campaign. In addition to the All-American laurels, Benton was a first team All-SAC performer at DH. He was recognized as a first team All-South Region pick on the ABCA and Daktronics honor listings. The Daktronics All-Region and All-American teams were selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

For his Bulldog career, Benton had a .314 batting average with 31 home runs and 133 RBI. A four-year starter, he also had 47 doubles, 123 runs scored and a career slugging percentage of .530.

Winona State (Minn.) University senior catcher/relief pitcher Ben Barrone is the NCBWA NCAA Division II Player of the Year. Francis Marion University junior Dylan Owen is the NCBWA Pitcher of the Year.

2007 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASEBALL WRITERS' ASSOCIATION DIVISION II ALL-AMERICAN TEAM

PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Dylan Owen, Francis Marion (S.C.)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Ben Barrone, Winona State (Minn.)

FIRST TEAM
SP - Nick Beach, Grand Valley State (Mich.)
SP - Jon Bjelland, Minnesota State
SP - Brent Lysander, Sonoma State (Calif.)
SP - Dylan Owen, Francis Marion (S.C.)
RP - Jonathan Holt, Tampa (Fla.)
RP - Jameson Maj, Abilene Christian (Texas)
C - Ben Barrone, Winona State (Minn.)
1B - Eric Lovett, Mount Olive (N.C.)
2B - Maikol Gonzalez, Tusculum (Tenn.)
3B - Jeff Carroll, Cal State Los Angeles
SS - Matt Bodenchuk, Mesa State (Colo.)
OF - Chance Beasley, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
OF - Nicolas Boisvert, Lynn (Fla.)
OF - Josh Miller, West Virginia State
DH - Miguel Porchas, New Mexico Highlands
UT - Keith Renaud, Franklin Pierce (N.H.)

SECOND TEAM
SP - Brett Durand, Delta State (Miss.)
SP - Kevin Hammons, Tusculum (Tenn.)
SP - Mike Myers, Adelphi (N.Y.)
SP - Matt Wright, Shippensburg (Pa.)
RP - Paige Dumont, Sonoma State (Calif.)
RP - Keith Nelson, Mesa State (Colo.)
C - Breck Draper, Central Oklahoma
1B - Josh Paul, Central Missouri
2B - Jeff Miller, West Virginia State
3B - Craig Corrado, Tampa (Fla.)
SS - Steve Condotta, Florida Tech
OF - Drew Candlin, Columbus State (Ga.)
OF - Jason Rust, Wilmington (Del.)
OF - Chris Weimer, Nebraska-Omaha
DH - Seth Waller, Belmont Abbey (N.C.)
UT - Matt Borman, Concordia-Saint Paul (Minn.)

THIRD TEAM
SP - Mike Adams, Franklin Pierce (N.H.)
SP - Tyler Cloyd, Nebraska-Omaha
SP - Jarrett Coker, Columbus State (Ga.)
SP - Justin Phillips, Harding (Ark.)
RP - Tyler Bishop, Franklin Pierce (N.H.)
RP - Nick Fellman, Minnesota State
C - Matt Adams, Slippery Rock (Pa.)
1B - Matt Cantele, UC San Diego
2B - Cody Lusero, Nebraska-Kearney
3B - Casey Jirsa, Ashland (Ohio)
SS - Evan Porter, Nebraska-Omaha
OF - Kyle Gerhart, New Mexico Highlands
OF - Dustin Jones, Wayne State (Neb.)
OF - Jareck West, Delta State (Miss.)
DH - Josh Benton, Wingate (N.C.)
UT - Chad Jacobson, USC Aiken

HONORABLE MENTION
SP - Dan Albritton, Florida Southern; Brett Armour, Mesa State (Colo.); Anthony Arrington, Columbus State (Ga.); Keith Barrett, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.); Bryson Clark, Pittsburg State (Kan.); Patrick Colgan, Saint Edward's (Texas); Chris Doerschner, California (Pa.); Kevin Ferguson, Tampa (Fla.); Frank Gailey, West Chester (Pa.); Tom Layne, Mount Olive (N.C.); Eric Loh, Bryant (R.I.); Bryan Oland, Sonoma State (Calif.)
RP - Frank Allen, Rockhurst (Mo.); Mike McCardell, Kutztown (Pa.); Michael Newman, Georgia College & State
C - Dustin Richardson, Mount Olive (N.C.); Christian Rosa, Tusculum (Tenn.); Nick Smith, Grand Valley State (Mich.)
1B - Brandon Halstead, West Virginia State; Frank Quintana, Felician (N.J.)
2B - Steven Allred, Angelo State (Texas); Alex Castellanos, Belmont Abbey (N.C.); Jake Christman, Franklin Pierce (N.H.); Darin Mastroianni, Southern Indiana
3B - Iain Dykins, Central Missouri; Jeremy Haworth, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.); Joe Mare, C.W. Post (N.Y.)
SS - Paul Day, Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.); Dan Skirka, Grand Valley State (Mich.)
OF - Michael Brzezinski, Saint Mary's (Texas); Will Cherry, Florida Southern; B.J. Collom, Sonoma State (Calif.); Scott Houin, Mount Olive (N.C.); Matt Lawson, UC San Diego; David Lough, Mercyhurst (Pa.); Truman Marek, Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.); Justin Mills, Georgia College & State; M.J. Parsons, Slippery Rock (Pa.); Kevin Renaud, Franklin Pierce (N.H.); Carlos Rivera, Tusculum (Tenn.); Lee Rohan, California (Pa.); Hunter Slade, Southern Indiana; Mike Testani, Adelphi (N.Y.); Mitch Walser, Upper Iowa
DH - Chris Caputo, Dowling (N.Y.); Bryce Columbus, Central Oklahoma; Drew Pare, West Chester (Pa.)
UT - Orestes Gonzalez, Barry (Fla.); Clay Sartain, Delta State (Miss.); Lee VanStreain, Grand Valley State (Mich.)