Five SAC Baseball Players Named To Daktronics All-America Team

Five SAC Baseball Players Named To Daktronics All-America Team
May 28, 2008

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Five baseball players from the South Atlantic Conference have been named to the 2008 Daktronics Division II Baseball All-America Team.

Selected to the first team were Carson-Newman pitcher Brett Hontz, Tusculum second baseman Maikol Gonzalez and Catawba outfielder David Thomas. Tusculum's Christian Rosa was selected to the second team as a utility player and Catawba outfielder Jerry Sands was selected to the third team. Lenoir-Rhyne's Daniel Ford was an honorable mention selection.

The Daktronics Division II Baseball All-America Team is selected by members of the D-II College Sports Information Directors of America.

Brett Hontz

Brett Hontz
Maikol Gonzalez
Christian Rosa
David Thomas
Jerry Sands

Hontz, a Newton Square, Pennsylvania-native, led the Eagles to a school-record 43 wins, and a third-place finish at the NCAA Division II South Regional. He went 11-1 in 14 starts in his final season at Mossy Creek. The right-hander allowed only 29 earned runs on the year, while striking out 98. He held opponents to a .244 batting average and wrapped up his impressive final season with 2.37 earned run average.

The senior was named South Region Pitcher of the Year by Daktronics last week, as well as earning the honor on the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Team and the NCBWA All-Region Team. He was also named second team ABCA/Rawlings All-American on Tuesday.

The 2008 South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year finished 6-0 in SAC play, while picking up two more non-conference wins against Newberry and Lenoir-Rhyne, to finish 8-0 against SAC opponents. He earned SAC Pitcher of the Week honors three times, and lost only once, a 2-1 decision to USC-Aiken, who spent much of the year ranked in the top ten.

Carson-Newman finished the season ranked 29th in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll.

Maikol Gonzalez, Christian Rosa

Tusculum College's Maikol Gonzalez and Christian Rosa have been named to the 2008 Daktronics Division II Baseball All-America Team announced officials Wednesday. Gonzalez earned First Team All-America honors, while Rosa was selected to the Second Team.

Gonzalez, a senior second baseman from Maraca Ibo, Venezuela, earns Daktronics All-America First Team accolades for a second straight year. Earlier this week, the two-time All-American was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America squad.

Rosa earns his first All-America honor of 2008 and joins Gonzalez and former three-time All-American Chad Busch to earn national accolades in multiple seasons. Rosa was named to the 2007 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America team, earning honorable mention recognition.

Gonzalez established a new school record by hitting .468 this year, surpassing the previous best by Julio Velazquez in the 1994 campaign (.467). Gonzalez also broke the TC and South Atlantic Conference single-season record with his 103 hits this year. For his efforts, he was named the Daktronics South Region Player of the Year for a second straight season. The two-time All-SAC First Team honoree accounted for 21 doubles, seven triples, five home runs and a team-best 58 RBI. His 30 stolen bases in 2008 were also a new school record.

During his two-year career, Gonzalez established new TC record for batting average (.457), triples (21) and on-base percentage (.522). His batting average is currently ninth all-time in NCAA II history, while his triples tally is tied for 12th in the record book. Earlier this month, he was named to the All-South Region teams by Daktronics, ABCA and NCBWA.

Rosa, a senior utility player from Toa Boa, Puerto Rico, split time at catcher and in the outfield. He finished third on the team hitting .390 with 15 doubles, seven triples and a team-best 12 home runs, including a solo shot in his final collegiate at-bat. Rosa's dozen homers are tied for the fourth most in school history. His 21 career round-trippers are tied for fifth all-time in the TC record book. He was named to the All-Region First Team by Daktronics and the ABCA.

The Pioneers posted a 41-15 record in 2008 and are currently ranked 30th in the nation. Tusculum advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year and the fourth time in the last six seasons. The Pioneers earned their way into the national postseason by winning the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

David Thomas, Jerry Sands

Outfielders David Thomas (Winston-Salem, NC/Ledford HS) and Jerry Sands (Clayton, NC/Smithfield-Selma HS) have been named to the 2008 Daktronics Division II Baseball All-America Team. Thomas earned First Team All-America honors, while Sands was selected to the Third Team.

Thomas, a senior, currently leads Catawba with a .432 average and has connected on a career-high 20 home runs with 57 RBI. He also paces the team with 74 runs scored and has swiped 22 bases. Thomas was the 2008 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and is a three-time all-region performer.

Sands, a junior, has set a school record this season with 80 RBI and has hit 23 homers. He has also set a record by drawing 52 walks and ranks second on the team with 73 runs scored. Sands has made all-region in each of his three seasons at Catawba.

2008 DAKTRONICS DIVISION II BASEBALL ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

Player of the Year: Chad Jacobson, Sr., 1B, South Carolina-Aiken
Pitcher of the Year: Korey Noles, Sr., LHP, Columbus State

FIRST TEAM
 C-Keith Hernandez, Emporia State
1B-Chad Jacobson, South Carolina-Aiken
2B-Maikol Gonzalez, Tusculum
3B-Rodney Rutherford, Columbus State
SS-Jamie Nilsen, Central Washington
OF-Mike Elkerson, Abilene Christian
OF-John Long, Southern Arkansas
OF-David Thomas, Catawba
DH-Trey Watten, Abilene Christian
UT-Dustin Koca, Nebraska-Omaha
SP-Korey Noles, Columbus State
SP-Mike Adams, Franklin Pierce
SP-Brett Hontz, Carson-Newman
SP-Marquies Fleming, Cal State Stanislas
RP-Anthony Perez, Tampa

SECOND TEAM
C-Jason Scherrer, Mount Olive
1B-Ben Minard, Ashland
2B-Clay Sartain, Delta State
3B-Rob Dahlberg, West Alabama
SS-Randall Clay, Southeastern Oklahoma
OF-Eric Shortell, Emporia State
OF-Brian Majors, Emporia State
OF-Gabe MacDougall, Lynn
DH-Dan Kozloski, Regis
UT-Christian Rosa, Tusculum
SP-Mark Carey, Central Missouri
SP-Clint Straka, Central Oklahoma
SP-Jim Fuller, Southern Connecticut State
SP-Matt Wright, Shippensburg
RP-Justin Lamb, Valdosta State

THIRD TEAM
 C-Reece Gorman, Metro State
1B-Bryan Cook, Nova Southeastern
2B-Patrick Brady, Bellermine
3B-Greyson Schram, Concord
SS-Evan Porter, Nebraska-Omaha
OF-Tyler Carroll, Central Oklahoma
OF-Jerry Sands, Catawba
OF-Karl Derbacher, Southern Connecticut State
DH-Nathan Coggins, Albany State
UT-Matt Adams, Slippery Rock
SP-Bobby Hernandez, Barry
SP-Blaine Cravens, St. Joseph's
SP-Nick Schumacher, Wayne State (Neb.)
SP-Chris Kessinger, Nebraska-Omaha
RP-Tyler Bishop, Franklin Pierce

HONORABLE MENTION
 Chas Anthony (2B, Erskine); Derek Bowen (2B, West Virginia Wesleyan); Ian Bridges (UT, Sonoma State); Clay Calfee (1B, Angel State); Brandon Dill (SP, West Alabama); Daniel Ford (3B, Lenoir-Rhyne); Mike Hallum (DH, Central Missouri); Kyle Hogue (3B, Mesa State); Derek Ingui (DH, Franklin Pieerce); Adam Kaminski (UT, Wayne State-Mich.); Bobby Kay (SP, CW Post); Chris Matlock (Central Missouri); Matt Means (SP, Sonoma State); Miguel Moctezuma (C, Central Oklahoma); Jason Morales (SS, UNC-Pembroke); Keith Noe (RP, UC San Diego); Jake Palmer (OF, Metro State); Ryan Schlecht (SP, Mount Olive); Nick Shaw (SS, Barry); Steve Smith (SP, (Ouachita Baptist); Chris Weimer (OF, Nebraska-Omaha); Josh Wilson (UT, Armstrong Atlantic)