CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Three Southern Conference pitchers were among the 37 players named to the initial watch list for the 11th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball, the association announced Tuesday. The Citadel’s Skylar Hunter, Samford’s Andres Gracia and Western Carolina’s Tyler Powell all earned spots on the list.
Hunter, a junior closer for The Citadel, enters the 2015 campaign with a career total of 28 saves, only one behind Citadel all-time leader and Athletic Hall of Fame member Hank Kraft. Hunter tied the school record for most saves in a season with 15 a year ago, ranking first in the Southern Conference and tied for 11th nationally.
The right-hander from Hanahan, S.C., allowed 22 hits and struck out 44 in 43 innings, posted an ERA of 1.67 and held opponents to a batting average of .152. Among his saves were two against nationally ranked teams. He closed out a Bulldog win over No. 8 Louisville when he retired the final six batters, including three strikeouts, and finished off a victory over No. 6 South Carolina when he fanned the potential tying run in the ninth.
Hunter also picked up two wins last year in which he went a total of seven innings. He struck out four and did not allow a run in season-high four innings against eventual Super Regional qualifier College of Charleston and tossed three innings of two-hit shutout ball with three strikeouts against Coastal Carolina.
Hunter assumed the closer's role during the fall of his freshman season and proceeded to save 13 games to rank second in the SoCon and 20th in the country. The first Bulldog to record double figures in saves since Link Saunders in 2006, Hunter struck out 44 in 35 1/3 innings, an average of 11.21 per nine innings, and was named second-team All-SoCon and to the Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America squad.
The Citadel begins its 2015 season on Friday, Feb. 13, when Air Force visits Riley Park in the opener of a three-game series. The Bulldogs have 36 regular-season home games on the slate and then play host to the SoCon tournament on May 19-24.
As a junior in 2014, Samford’s Gracia posted an impressive 0.79 ERA, allowing just three earned runs in 34 innings of work. Gracia had 14 saves and finished with a record of 2-1 for the season.
Gracia recorded 38 strikeouts, while allowing just 12 walks in 2014. He held opposing batters to a .211 average throughout the season.
For his Samford career, Gracia has an ERA of 2.84, with 17 saves over 92 innings. He has posted 74 strikeouts and just 25 walks in three full seasons in a Samford uniform.
Gracia and the Bulldogs will open the 2015 season on Friday, Feb. 13, when the Bulldogs open a three-game series with Radford at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams will play Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. CST, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 15 at 1 p.m.
Western Carolina closer Powell was listed on the initial watch list for the second straight season. Powell secured a career-best 13 saves in 2014, third in Western Carolina’s single-season record books, to give him 15 career saves entering his final season on the diamond. The Charlotte, N.C., product only allowed four runs a year ago, closing the season with a career-low ERA of 1.44 and a 2-0 record. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out 23 batters against just 10 walks, making 22 appearances out of the bullpen. He surrendered just 17 base hits with a mere three going for extra bases.
Powell earned second-team All-Southern Conference accolades from the league’s voting media, and was a second-team All-State selection by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA). Off the field, the biology major earned his second straight Spring Academic All-SoCon plaudits and was again listed on the SoCon Academic Honor Roll.