The South Atlantic Conference Announces Baseball Annual Awards
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSac.com) – Catawba outfielder Luke Setzer was voted the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Baseball Player of the Year, while Lenoir-Rhyne's Thomas St. Clair was named the Pitcher of the Year. In addition, Hunter Shepherd of Catawba was voted the League's Freshman of the Year and Catawba mentor Jim Gantt and Lincoln Memorial head coach Jeff Sziksai were tabbed the Co-Coaches of the Year, the League announced today.
Setzer, a junior from Salisbury, N.C., finished the season ranked tops in the nation with 88 hits and 152 total bases. He scored 59 runs for the Catawba Indians to rank No. 7 in Division II, while his 15 home runs were good for No. 15 in the country. Setzer's 17 doubles came in at No. 15 in the country as he finished with a slugging percentage of .741 to pace at No. 24 in D-II. He batted .429 during the 2017 campaign as he finished No. 18 in the country in the category. Setzer earned National Baseball Coaches Association Regional Hitter of the Week (NCBWA) on a pair of occasions during 2017 campaign to go along with 30 multiple hit games on the year.
St. Clair, a senior from Winston-Salem, N.C., closed out the 2017 season ranked No. 3 in Division II with 111 strikeouts. He struck out 12.28 batters per nine innings to rank No. 14 in the country, while his nine wins on the year was good for No. 8 in the country. St. Clair earned NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week on March 3 as he struck out 17 hitters in a complete game shutout win over League-foe Anderson. A two-time NCBWA Regional Pitcher of the Week during 2017, St. Clair amassed double-digit strikeouts in five of his 12 starts.
Shepherd, a pitcher from Salisbury, N.C., ranked No. 3 in the South Atlantic Conference with seven wins this season. He posted a 3.81 ERA in 15 appearances to go along with 43 strikeouts. At the plate, Shepherd hit .355 with 11 hits, two doubles and one home run.
Gantt earns his ninth Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Catawba Indians to their 12th South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship, including their fifth-straight title. His Catawba Indians put 80 balls over the fence to rank No. 1 in the country and amassed 115 doubles during the regular season to rank No. 2 nationally. The Catawba Indians slugged .572 to lead the nation as they pounded out 567 hits on the year to set the national standard. Catawba's 414 runs scored this season ranks No. 2 in the nation. Defensively, Gantt's pitching staff averaged 9.0 strikeouts per nine to rank No. 18 in D-II.
Sziksai picks up his first career Coach of the Year nod as his Railsplitters posted their best League regular season finish in school history as Lincoln Memorial came in as the regular season runner-up. Lincoln Memorial had 55 clear the fence to pace at No. 18 in the country, while its 105 doubles ranked No. 4 in Division II. The Railsplitters were on base in 42 percent of their at bats to rank No. 11 in the country and scored 391 runs to rank No. 6 in D-II.
The awards will be presented at the 2017 Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn. between games four and five.
2017 SAC Baseball All-Conference Agate
All-SAC First Team
OF – Luke Setzer, Catawba
OF – Logan Augustine, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Daymon Totherow, Newberry
1B – Timmy Wages, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Hunter Merrill, Mars Hill
SS – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
3B – John Topoleski, Tusculum
C – Zach Almond, Catawba
DH – Ben Herring, Newberry
SP – Thomas St. Clair, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Zack Kelly, Newberry
SP – Ethan Carpenter, Tusculum
RP – Bryan Blanton, Catawba
All-SAC Second Team
OF – Ryan Addington, Carson-Newman
OF – Brett Brubaker, Mars Hill
OF – William Thomas, Anderson
1B – Nick Lacina, Tusculum
2B – Kyle Smith, Catawba
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Eric Kalman, Lincoln Memorial
C – Greg Jones, Carson-Newman
DH – Nick Coble, Catawba
SP – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
SP –Tim Hardy, Tusculum
SP – Brandon Jean, Lincoln Memorial
RP – Griffin Hollifield, Coker
Honorable Mentions
OF – Mason Ewers, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Malachi Hanes, Catawba
OF – Jeremy Glore, Tusculum
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Tyler Miller, Anderson
3B – Brett Langhorne, Carson-Newman
C – Russell Clark, Lincoln Memorial
DH – Bradley Brown, Wingate
SP – Forrest Arnold, Coker
SP – Zac Brown, Mars Hill
SP – Evan Estridge, Newberry
RP – Dominic Morabito, Lincoln Memorial
All-Defensive Team
RF – Daymon Totherow, Newberry
CF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
LF – Marcus Shoemaker, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Cody Ezzell, Newberry
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – John Topoleski, Tusculum
C – Jeff Sneed, Newberry
P – Zac Brown, Mars Hill
Player of the Year
Luke Setzer, Catawba
Pitcher of the Year
Thomas St. Clair, Lenoir-Rhyne
Freshman of the Year
Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
Co-Coach of the Year
Jim Gantt, Catawba
Jeff Sziksai, Lincoln Memorial
Statistical Champions
Team Batting Average – Catawba (.334)
Team Slugging Percentage – Catawba (.559)
Team On-Base Percentage – Lincoln Memorial (.415)
Team Doubles Per Game – Catawba (2.45)
Team Triples Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (0.41)
Team Home Runs Per Game – Catawba (1.64)
Team RBIs Per Game – Tusuclum (7.11)
Team Stolen Bases Per Game – Mars Hill (1.69)
Team Earned Run Average – Tusculum (4.32)
Team Strikeouts Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (10.6)
Batting Average – Luke Setzer, Catawba (.425)
On-Base Percentage – Timmy Wages, Lincoln Memorial (.516)
Slugging Percentage – Zach Almond, Catawba (.736)
Home Runs Per Game – Zach Almond, Catawba (0.34)
RBIs Per Game – Zach Almond, Catawba (1.27)
Runs Scored Per Game – Logan Augustine, Lincoln Memorial (1.40)
Doubles Per Game – Zach Almond, Catawba (0.44)
Triples Per Game – Justin Dean, Lenoir-Rhyne (0.14)
Stolen Bases Per Game – Hunter Merrill, Mars Hill (0.65)
Earned Run Average – Griffin Hollifield, Coker (1.50)
Strikeouts Per Nine Innings – Thomas St. Clair, Lenoir-Rhyne (13.38)
Pitching Victories – Thomas St. Clair, Lenoir-Rhyne (9)