Baseball Southern Conference

SoCon announces May athletes of the month

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its May athletes of the month for baseball, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.

BASEBALL
Player
Charlie Madden, Mercer, So., C
Mercer catcher Charlie Madden hit .408 with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 21 RBIs in 14 May games, helping the Bears to the SoCon regular-season and tournament titles and an NCAA Regional appearance. The sophomore from Dunwoody, Ga., had six multi-hit games in the month and hit .522 in postseason play. Madden opened May with four hits and three RBIs in the Bears’ sweep of VMI, turning in two doubles and a home run. In Mercer’s 14-5 win over Samford on May 14, Madden was 2-for-2 with a home run and a career-high six RBIs as the Bears clinched at least a share of the SoCon regular-season title. He was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs the following day as Mercer captured the title outright. In the SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties, Madden was 7-for-15 (.467) in helping the Bears to the title, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. His three-run double gave Mercer all the offense it would need in its 3-2 win over The Citadel in its opening game, and he went 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs in a 19-7 win over VMI the next day. Madden was 5-for-8 in Mercer’s two one-run losses at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, collecting three hits and an RBI against No. 10 Florida State and adding two more hits against Auburn to earn all-tournament honors. Madden brought his seasonal average up 40 points over the final two weeks of the season.

Others nominated: Danny Rodriguez (Samford), Bradley Strong (Western Carolina) and Conor Clancey (Wofford).

Pitcher
Eric Nyquist, Mercer, Sr., RHP
Mercer right-hander Eric Nyquist went 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in May, striking out 20 batters and walking just eight. He allowed seven earned runs on 28 hits in 32 2/3 innings of work across six starts. Nyquist opened the month with a win over VMI, allowing one earned run on five hits in seven innings of work, striking out five. After a scoreless inning of work against Alabama, the senior from Alpharetta, Ga., picked up a win against Samford on May 14, clinching at least a share of the regular-season SoCon title for the Bears. He struck out seven in that contest. Nyquist earned the first of his two wins at the SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties in Mercer’s first contest, holding The Citadel to one earned run on five hits in five innings of work. Nyquist was masterful in the title game of the tournament, shutting down No. 2 seed Samford with a six-hit, complete-game shutout en route to earning the Walt Nadzak Most Outstanding Player award. Nyquist closed his career with three scoreless innings against Auburn in an elimination game at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, finishing his career with 15 consecutive scoreless innings. He finished the season 9-2 with a 3.11 ERA and an opposing batting average of .229.

Others nominated: Andres Gracia (Samford), Brendan Nail (Western Carolina) and Luke Leftwich (Wofford).


Southern Conference May Athletes of the Month
Baseball – player    Charlie Madden, Mercer
Baseball – pitcher    Eric Nyquist, Mercer

-www.SoConSports.com-