Elon’s Austin, Irvine Claim ABCA Accolades
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The American Baseball Coaches Association has announced the 2009 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA All-Atlantic Region Team as well as the 2009 All-America teams. Both lists feature Elon standouts Chase Austin and Pat Irvine who were each recognized as First Team All-Atlantic Region selections and Third Team All-America honorees. The Southern Conference was represented by 10 players on the All-Atlantic Region teams.
Both players were selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, Austin in the fifth round by the Florida Marlins and Irvine in the 33rd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
East Carolina and Florida State led all Atlantic Region schools with three all-region picks. Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Elon, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia each had two recipients. Only Elon, East Carolina and Georgia Tech had two First Team All-Region honorees.
Austin was the 2009 Co-Southern Conference Player of the Year and belted an Elon program-record 23 home runs and tied the team record with 82 RBI. One of three Phoenix players to start all 59 games, Austin hit .359 and scored a team-best 74 runs, the second-most in team history. Of his school-record 92 hits, there were 11 doubles and three triples to post a slugging percentage of .695. Austin was successful on 19 of his 20 stolen base attempts. He was a North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association All-State selection following the 2009 campaign. Austin also set a new program record with 178 total bases this year and placed seventh on the school's single-season slugging percentage chart with a mark of .695 in 2009.
In his three years with the Phoenix program, Austin ranks among the school's all-time top-10 in the following categories: hits (eighth with 220), runs scored (ninth with 152), doubles (ninth with 42), home runs (tied for third with 35) and RBI (third with 175).
As a senior, Irvine batted .402 with a team-best .782 slugging percentage and .533 on-base percentage. He finished the year with 14 doubles, five triples and 17 home runs while driving in 57 runs and scoring 68 times. Irvine, who stole 19 bases, collected one Southern Conference Player of the Week honor in 2009 and was named both SoCon All-Tournament and First Team All-Southern Conference.
His 68 runs scored in 2009 rate in a tie for fifth in a season in program history while his 17 homers rate in a tie for the seventh-most in the history of the program. Irvine's 153 total bases place him fifth on that list. His .789 slugging percentage rates as the top single-season slugging percentage in school history.
Irvine concluded his Elon career by ranking among the school's all-time best in the following categories: 10th in games played (202), sixth in runs (161), fifth in home runs (31) and seventh in RBI (147).
Chris Mederos, Griffin Benedict Named All-Region Eagles voted to Second Team All-Atlantic Region
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern pitcher Chris Mederos (Valdosta/Lowndes County/Gordon College) and catcher Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) were selected American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Second Team All-Atlantic Region. The announcement was made Wednesday (June 24).
It marks the second straight year that two Eagles were named to the All-Atlantic Region teams. Mederos was a Third Team All-Ping!Baseball selection while Benedict was also voted All-America by Rivals.com.
Mederos finished the year 11-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 94 innings. He struck out 113 batters to just 29 walks allowed, starting in all 16 appearances. In the latest national statistical rankings Mederos, drafted in the 25th round in the MLB draft, stands ninth in victories and 17th in strikeouts.
He pitched at least five innings in all but one start. The First Team All-SoCon and SoCon All-Tournament pick struck out at least six batters in 13 of his 16 starts, including consecutive outings of double-digits (11 Ks versus Wofford, 12 against Davidson in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament).
Among the Georgia Southern season leaders, Mederos tied for 10th in wins, tied for sixth winning eight consecutive decisions, and fell just five strikeouts shy of joining that season list. He helped the Eagles to a 42-17 record, win their fourth SoCon Tournament championship and make the program’s 12th appearance in the NCAA Regionals.
Benedict, a First Team All-Southern Conference pick, hit 17 doubles, scored 67 runs and drove in 65. He set the Georgia Southern single season record with 24 hit by pitches and finished his career second all-time with 53. Benedict also walked (34) more times than he struck out on the year (31) in 221 at-bats. He finished 8-for-8 in stolen bases and posted a .988 fielding percentage.
Among the national leaders, Benedict currently stands 35th in batting average, fourth in hit by pitches, seventh in on-base percentage (.528), 59th in RBI and 84th in slugging percentage (.679). Earlier this year he tied a NCAA single-game record hitting two home runs during the same inning in a 14-4 win over #20 East Carolina. He was chosen in the 16th round by the San Diego Padres and currently plays for the Eugene Emeralds.
He played in 225 career games as an Eagle, tying for 10th place on that all-time list. Benedict also finished his career ranked sixth in runs (192) and tied for sixth in RBI (195). He posted a .342 all-time batting average with 53 doubles (tied 7th) and 33 home runs. Benedict was one of two players in program history to record 60 runs scored/60 RBI in two consecutive years.
Sizemore, Bergman honored by American Baseball Coaches Association
Charleston, S.C. ? College of Charleston senior second baseman Brandon Sizemore (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has been named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Atlantic Region Team, while junior second baseman Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla.) was also named to the All-Atlantic as well as the All-American Team, it was announced today by the ABCA.
Sizemore was a named to the second team in the All-Atlantic Region, while Bergman was a first team selection. Bergman was also a third team All-America honoree.
Sizemore, from Jacksonville, Fla., was a first team All-Southern Conference selection after hitting .318 with 17 homers and a team-leading 74 RBI. Sizemore added 20 doubles, 10 stolen bases and scored 67 runs.
Bergman was named the 2009 Southern Conference Player of the Year and third team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. Bergman was second in the nation with a .452 batting average and led the country with 88 runs scored. Bergman added 15 homers and 57 RBI. He was 24-26 in stolen bases and led the Cougars with 25 doubles.
East Carolina and Florida State led all Atlantic Region schools with three all-region picks. Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Elon, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia each had two recipients. Georgia Tech and Virginia each had two All-America honorees as well.
Nine players nationally were selected for the Gold Glove Award, with the Atlantic Region featuring one winner ? Florida State outfielder Tyler Holt. One winner was selected per position on a national level.
Richard Jones Named ABCA/Rawlings All-Atlantic Region First Team
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ? The Citadel’s Richard Jones was honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Wednesday, garnering First Team honors on the All-Atlantic Region teams. Jones was one of 10 Southern Conference players honored in the Atlantic Region.
Jones had a banner year in 2009, hitting .378 and matching teammate Bryan Altman for 95 hits ? a mark that ranks them both 21st in the nation. Jones tied the school’s single-season home run record with 17 round trippers while his 43 career home runs rank him second in school history.
Jones announced earlier this week that he would forego his senior year and sign a contract with the Chicago Cubs organization. The Cubs drafted Jones in the ninth round of the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft. The Citadel had four cadet-student-athletes drafted in the 2009 MLB Draft, more than any other year in school history.
Brent Greer Named to Second Team ABCA All-Atlantic Region
Junior led WCU with a .420 batting average last season
Cullowhee, N.C. - Former Western Carolina shortstop Brent Greer was today named to the second team American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Atlantic Region team.
Greer becomes the 28th Catamount all-time to garner All-Atlantic Region plaudits, and the first since Kenny Smith was tabbed following the 2007 season. He was also one of 10 Southern Conference student-athletes named to the ABCA All-Atlantic Region.
The Arizona Diamondbacks 14th-round selection, Greer garnered his first career first-team All-Southern Conference honor this season. He became Western Carolina's all-time, single-season leader with 102 hits last season, surpassing both the late Keith LeClair (1988) and Kevin Bellomo (1991) who each had 101. By doing so, Greer became the 10th different SoCon player to eclipse 100 hits in a season, the first of three to do so last year alone.
The Manassas, Va., native ranked third in the SoCon with a team-high .420 (102-for-243) batting average which included a team-best tying 22 doubles (5th in SoCon) and a career-best eight home runs. He additionally posted an on-base percentage of .476 to rank eighth in the league. In the field, Greer was a part of turning 28 double plays during the season from his shortstop position.
Greer, who was additionally named All-State, was also voted to the SoCon All-tournament team after hitting .455 (5-for-11) with a walk over the three-games in Greenville, S.C., with a pair of doubles and three RBI.
Quate, Harrow Named All-Region
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ? Third baseman Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) and relief pitcher Zach Quate (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) represent Appalachian State University baseball on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Rawlings all-Atlantic Region second team, the ABCA announced last week.
The all-region teams were selected by coaches from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Quate turned in the best season by a closer in Appalachian history in ?09, going 3-1 with 11 saves and a 1.09 earned run average in 31 appearances. In 41.1 innings of work, the right-handed senior allowed only five earned runs on 24 hits (.171 opp. BA) while striking out 55 and walking only 14.
His 11 saves ranked 21st nationally and obliterated the ASU single-season record of eight. He was a perfect 11-for-11 in save opportunities and surrendered earned runs in only three of his 31 appearances. Aside from an uncharacteristic outing at UNC Greensboro on May 10 when he allowed three runs in a 9-8 extra-inning victory, Quate sported a minuscule 0.47 ERA in his 30 other outings on the mound.
Quate was especially dominant in April, going 1-0 with eight saves in 13 appearances. He struck out 24 and allowed only eight hits in 16 innings of work, en route to being named the SoCon’s Pitcher of the Month. He turned in perhaps his best performance of the season when he struck out the side on 10 pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning to nail down a 4-1 win over The Citadel in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament.
Harrow put together one of the best offensive campaigns in Appalachian history in ?09, setting school records with 75 RBI, 163 total bases and six triples. He ranked among the nation’s top 35 in nine different statistical categories, including batting average (.422 ? 19th), hits (92 ? 23rd), doubles (23 ? 18th), triples (6 ? 21st), RBI (75 ? 18th), slugging percentage (.748 ? 26th), total bases (163 ? 21st), on-base percentage (.500 ? 34th) and sacrifice flies (7 ? 28th).
Harrow was the driving force behind the Mountaineers’ rebound from a 6-14 start, hitting .488 (61-for-125) with 54 RBI, 39 runs scored, 15 doubles, five triples, seven home runs, a .557 on-base percentage and .856 slugging percentage over the final 31 games of the regular season. He was particularly impressive during the Apps’ 18-2 April, batting .442 (34-for-77) with 35 RBI and 27 runs scored in 20 games, en route to being named the SoCon Player of the Month. Half of his 34 hits in April went for extra bases (eight doubles, three triples, six home runs), good for a .857 slugging percentage, and he hit safely in 19-of-20 games, including 14-straight to close out the month.
In addition to his three single-season records, Harrow became ASU’s all-time leader in at-bats (750), runs (165), hits (260), doubles (65), RBI (201) and total bases (421) during the course of the season.
Both players were selected in the first half of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft ? Quate in the 14th round by the Tampa Bay Rays and Harrow in the 24th round by the New York Yankees. Quate is currently playing for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League and Harrow is playing for the GCL Yankees of the Gulf Coast League.