Leeds, Wojciechowski earn Player and Pitcher of the Year honors
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Mirroring the selections of the league’s coaches, the voting members of the Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) have chosen The Citadel junior right-hander Asher Wojciechowski as the Pitcher of the Year while College of Charleston sophomore third baseman Matt Leeds has been honored as the Player of the Year.
The panel also chose an all-conference first and second team.
The Citadel head coach Fred Jordan, who guided the Bulldogs to the Southern Conference regular season crown, was tabbed as the SoCon Coach of the Year, and Furman second baseman Will Muzika was honored as the Freshman of the Year.
Wojciechowski fashioned a 10-2 mark during the regular season with a 3.23 ERA and a league-high 128 strikeouts. The junior fanned at least nine batters in nine of his 14 starts on the year while holding the opposition to a .218 batting average. Wojciechowski notched three complete games and tossed 103 innings during the regular season.
Leeds was a .340 hitter during the regular season while belting SoCon-highs with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. As a sophomore, Leeds started in all 56 games for the nation’s 29th-ranked team. He recorded a .730 slugging percentage with 22 doubles and 57 runs scored.
College of Charleston had three first-team selections, including Leeds at third base, Rob Kral at catcher and Cole Rakar and Jose Rodriguez in the outfield.
Elon’s Jimmy Reyes was the other starting pitcher on the first team where he was joined by teammate Neal Pritchard at shortstop.
Other first-team honorees included Chris Patterson and Wes Hobson of Appalachian State, Kyle Blackburn of Georgia Southern, David Schulze of Samford and Mac Doyle of Wofford.
Muzika led all Southern Conference freshmen with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs, both of which are among the best single-season totals in Furman history. The second baseman recorded at least one hit in all but nine of 53 games played. He notched a pair of five-RBI games and helped Furman to upset Georgia on March 24 by going 3-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs.
Jordan’s Bulldogs led the Southern Conference from start to finish in 2010 after opening the conference season with a 10-game win streak. The Citadel’s title was its first in the regular season since 2002, earning it the top seed in this week’s SoCon Baseball Championship.
2010 SoCon Sports Media Association Baseball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year ? Matt Leeds, So., 3B, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the Year ? Asher Wojciechowski, Jr., RHP, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year ? Will Muzika, Fr., 2B, Furman
Coach of the Year ? Fred Jordan, The Citadel
First Team
SP Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
SP Jimmy Reyes, Elon
RP Chris Patterson, Appalachian State
C Rob Kral, College of Charleston
1B Kyle Blackburn, Georgia Southern
2B Wes Hobson, Appalachian State
SS Neal Pritchard, Elon
3B Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
OF David Schulze, Samford
OF Cole Rakar, College of Charleston
OF Jose Rodriguez, College of Charleston
DH Mac Doyle, Wofford
Second Team
SP Kevin Decker, College of Charleston
SP Matt Benedict, Western Carolina
RP Lex Rutledge, Samford
C Mike Melillo, Elon
1B Greg Blake, College of Charleston
2B Bryan Altman, The Citadel
SS Eric Phillips, Georgia Southern
3B Kyle Behrendt, Wofford
OF Matt Hinson, Elon
OF Shawn Payne, Georgia Southern
OF Trevor Collias, Western Carolina
DH Jerod Faggart, Appalachian State