Baseball Southern Conference

Five SoCon Baseball Players On Academic All-District III Team

Elon

ELON, N.C. -- Elon University's Gary Morris (Franklin, N.C.) was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with First Team Academic All-District honors on Thursday. Morris, a junior second baseman for the Phoenix, is now eligible for Academic All-American distinction. The field consisted of NCAA Division I players from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Morris has maintained a 3.68 GPA in Environmental Studies while being a leader for the Phoenix on the diamond. In his time at Elon, Morris has made the Dean's List five times and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll five times as well as the Big South Presidential Honor Roll twice. He was also named to the Southern Conference All-Academic Team this spring.

On the field, Morris leads the team with a .371 batting average and is currently riding a team-high 12-game hitting streak. He leads the SoCon with 20 stolen bases and ranks atop the team in hits (75) and runs scored (52). Morris, the team MVP in 2004, ranks among Elon's all-time best in runs scored, sitting in fifth with 135 runs in his three years. He also holds down the number nine spot on the career at bats list with 559. One hit shy of breaking into the career top-10 in that category, Morris needs only nine more hits this season to set a new single-season standard.

Joining Morris on the first team were:
Jeff Reeves, Winthrop, Pitcher
Chris Saxton, Florida Atlantic, Pitcher
Chris Westervelt, Stetson, Catcher
Brett Anderson, College of Charleston, Infield
Tom Blaszak, Virginia Tech, Infield
James Burt, Miami, Infield
Steven Blackwood, Georgia Tech, Outfield
Phillip Coker, College of Charleston, Outfield
Sammy Styers, Gardner-Webb, Outfield
David Dufour, Wofford, Designated Hitter

Wofford

Wofford designated hitter David Dufour and shortstop Tony Carbone have received Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Dufour is a first-team selection and is now eligible for Academic All-America consideration. Carbone was named to the second-team.

The district includes all Division I members in the states of South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or key reserve.

A senior from Morrow, Ohio, Dufour tops the Terriers with a .324 batting average, including a .421 mark in SoCon play. He has eight home runs, nine doubles and 20 RBI.

Dufour was the April SoCon Baseball Student-Athlete of the Month when he batted .455 with four home runs, six doubles and 13 RBI in 12 league games. Earlier this spring, he received TIAA-CREF SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week honors when he posted a .538 average (7-of-13) with nine RBI as Wofford won two of three games at Furman.

Dufour tops the SoCon for league games only in slugging percentage (.868) while placing second in home runs (8, .31 per game), fourth in on-base percentage (.522) and fifth in batting average (.421) and total bases (66, 2.54 per game).

Carbone is batting .305 with one home run and 19 RBI. Having already earned a degree in business economics from Wofford, he is now completing work on a Spanish degree.

Carbone has excelled defensively for the Terriers, committing just 10 errors in 239 chances at shortstop. He has started all but one game he's played over the last four years.

The senior from Columbia, S.C., shared 2004 Wofford team Most Valuable Player honors with first baseman David Long. Carbone tops the Terriers in doubles (11), stolen bases (10) and sacrifice bunts (five). He's the Wofford career leader in sacrifices with 24.

Carbone had four hits in a 7-6 win over Georgia Southern last month and has had a pair of 11-game hitting streaks this spring.

College of Charleston

Charleston, S.C. - College of Charleston baseball players Phillip Coker and Brett Anderson have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III Team, it was announced on Thursday. Charleston is the only school to have to two players earn first team honors.

Both players will now represent the district on the national ballot and are candidates for the 2004 Academic All-America Baseball Team.

Coker, a sophomore right fielder from Hanahan, S.C., has a 3.97 grade point average while majoring in Chemistry. Coker has played 47 games and sports a .382 batting average wiht two homers and 32 runs batted in. He's added 14 stolen bases and a Southern Conference-leading 61 runs scored.

Anderson, a junior first baseman from Charleston, currently leads the SoCon with 58 RBI and is hitting .381 with a career-best 14 homers in 47 games. He's added 12 doubles and 56 runs scored. Anderson has a 3.46 gpa and is majoring in Communications.

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) selects All-America teams in 12 programs: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track and field/cross country, women's track and field/cross country, men's at-large, women's at-large.

The Cougars, ranked 22nd nationally, are currently 37-10 overall and sit atop the Southern Conference standings with a 21-3 league mark. The Cougars have a three game lead over second place The Citadel with league games remaining.

The Cougars open a three-game SoCon series at UNC Greensboro on Friday. First pitch is slated for 7:00.