SAC Baseball Awards Led by LMU’s Coker, Catawba’s Brooks
The SAC announced its award winners from the 2014 baseball season on Wednesday, a list headlined by Lincoln Memorial’s Josh Coker and Catawba’s Craig Brooks, the conference’s Player and Pitcher of the Year.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The SAC announced its award winners from the 2014 baseball season on Wednesday, a list headlined by Lincoln Memorial's Josh Coker and Catawba's Craig Brooks, the conference's Player and Pitcher of the Year.
Coker ranked among the SAC leaders in a host of categories during the regular season, finishing first in slugging at .754, second in home runs with 13, tied for third in RBI with 44, fourth in on-base percentage at .452, and sixth in batting average at .373. The outfielder also has 14 multi-hit games this year for the Railsplitters.
Brooks, meanwhile, led the league with 10 wins and 86 strikeouts, and his 2.28 ERA was the conference's sixth-best. He allowed opponents to hit just .178 in 75 innings of work.
Forming the All-SAC First Team infield are Anderson catcher Jonathan Zalud, AU first baseman Steven Cooper, Lenoir-Rhyne second baseman Brantley Rumford, Newberry third baseman Ryan Cranmer and Brooks, who also earned an All-Conference selection at shortstop.
Zalud is sixth in the SAC with a .445 on-base percentage, Cooper leads the league with 48 RBI, 18 doubles and 113 total bases, Rumford ranks ninth with 58 hits, Cranmer is tied for fourth in the conference with nine home runs, and Brooks had the seventh-best on-base percentage at .444.
Joining Coker in the first-team outfield are Lenoir-Rhyne's Ivan Vieitez and Anderson's Nate Galliford. Vieitez leads the SAC in batting average at .461 and on-base at .546, while Galliford belted a league-high 15 home runs during the regular season.
Catawba's T.J. Wharton was selected as the first-team DH after hitting .308 with nine homers and 41 RBI.
The first-team pitching staff consists of Brooks, Wingate's Olen Little and Catawba's Shaefer Shepard as starters, and Catawba's Ryan McClintock as its reliever.
Little went 9-1 with a 2.16 ERA and 52 strikeouts, McClintock had eight saves and a 1.44 ERA, and Shepard – who was also voted as the SAC Freshman of the Year – went 6-1 with a league-best 1.35 ERA.
Earning All-SAC Second Team infield honors are Wingate catcher Josh Clark, LMU first baseman Kelvin Brito, Tusculum second baseman Vinny Ferrara, LMU second baseman Jean Rodriguez, Mars Hill shortstop Evan Rogers and Coker third baseman T.J. Giczkowski. Carson-Newman's Bo Ausmus, Wingate's Eric Serra and Catawba's Keaton Hawks are the team's outfielders, Tusculum's Taylor Foster is the DH, Wingate's Ben Currie and Newberry's Wesley Camp and Jake Nidiffer are the starters, and LMU's Coker is the team's reliever.
The All-SAC Honorable Mention Team is made up of LMU catcher Kyle Floyd, Catawba first baseman Paul Kronenfeld, Wingate shortstop Michael Godinez, Tusculum third baseman John Topoleski, outfielders Blake Houston of Catawba, Ernie Kirkwood of Coker and Alex Kirby of Newberry, Newberry DH Eric Barbieri, starters Cole Cromer of Newberry, Landon Beck of Anderson and Caleb Edwards of Mars Hill, and Newberry reliever Daniel Nations.
Also announced on Wednesday was the SAC Gold Glove Team, which recognizes the conference's top defensive players. Receiving selections were Anderson's Zalud at catcher, Mars Hill's Dalton Eisenbath at first base, Catawba's Julio Zubillaga at second base, Anderson's Brett Cash at shortstop, Tusculum's Topoleski at third base, Carson-Newman's Ausmus, Newberry's Kirby and Mars Hill's Tommy Scala in the outfield, and Newberry's Camp on the mound.
After their teams shared the SAC regular-season title with identical 20-7 conference records, Catawba's Jim Gantt and Wingate's Jeff Gregory were voted as the league's co-Coaches of the Year. It marks the seventh time for Gantt and first for Gregory receiving the award.
2014 SAC Baseball Awards
SAC Player of the Year: Josh Coker, Lincoln Memorial
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Craig Brooks, Catawba
SAC Freshman of the Year: Shaefer Shepard, Catawba
SAC Co-Coaches of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba/Jeff Gregory, Wingate
All-SAC First Team
C – Jonathan Zalud, Anderson
1B – Steven Cooper, Anderson
2B – Brantley Rumford, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS – Craig Brooks, Catawba
3B – Ryan Cranmer, Newberry
OF – Ivan Vieitez, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Josh Coker, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Nate Galliford, Anderson
DH – T.J. Wharton, Catawba
SP – Craig Brooks, Catawba
SP – Olen Little, Wingate
SP – Shaefer Shepard, Catawba
RP – Ryan McClintock, Catawba
All-SAC Second Team
C – Josh Clark, Wingate
1B – Kelvin Brito, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Vinny Ferrara, Tusculum
2B – Jean Rodriguez, Lincoln Memorial
SS – Evan Rogers, Mars Hill
3B – T.J. Giczkowski, Coker
OF – Bo Ausmus, Carson-Newman
OF – Eric Serra, Wingate
OF – Keaton Hawks, Catawba
DH – Taylor Foster, Tusculum
SP – Ben Currie, Wingate
SP – Wesley Camp, Newberry
SP – Jake Nidiffer, Newberry
RP – Josh Coker, Lincoln Memorial
All-SAC Honorable Mention
C – Kyle Floyd, Lincoln Memorial
1B – Paul Kronenfeld, Catawba
SS – Michael Godinez, Wingate
3B – John Topoleski, Tusculum
OF – Blake Houston, Catawba
OF – Ernie Kirkwood, Coker
OF – Alex Kirby, Newberry
DH – Eric Barbieri, Newberry
SP – Cole Cromer, Newberry
SP – Landon Beck, Anderson
SP – Caleb Edwards, Mars Hill
RP – Daniel Nations, Newberry
SAC All-Defensive Team
C – Jonathan Zalud, Anderson
1B – Dalton Eisenbath, Mars Hill
2B – Julio Zubillaga, Catawba
SS – Brett Cash, Anderson
3B – John Topoleski, Tusculum
OF – Tommy Scala, Mars Hill
OF – Alex Kirby, Newberry
OF – Bo Ausmus, Carson-Newman
P – Wesley Camp, Newberry