Newberry's Triplett Named NCBWA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, Eleven Players Earn All-Region Honors
Wingate, N.C.----The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announced All-Region teams Wednesday afternoon. Newberry College head coach Russell Triplett has earned NCBWA Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors, while 11 players earned first or second team honors.
Triplett earned SAC Coach of the Year honors in 2019, leading Newberry to the regular season conference title. The nine-year head coach led the Wolves to their first-ever regular season league title, while Newberry climbed as high as third in the national polls, the highest in program history. The Wolves won a school-record 41 games in 2019, going 41-16 on the year with a 21-3 league record, earning the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history.
Tusculum University junior second baseman Daulton Martin earns first team All-Region honors, hitting .362 with 22 doubles, eight homers and 47 RBI while scoring 61 runs and stealing 17 bases. He leads the league in doubles, ranking second in runs scored and on-base percentage, seventh in RBI, eighth in total bases and slugging percentage and ninth in stolen bases. Catawba College junior third baseman Jackson Raper rounds out the first team infield. He is hitting .362 with 20 doubles, four triples, seven homers and 54 RBI, scoring 47 runs. Raper leads the SAC in total bases, while ranking second in hits, doubles and RBI, third in triples and eighth in batting average.
SAC Player of the Year Danton Hyman rounds out the first team outfielders. The Newberry College senior hit .403 with 19 doubles and five triples, driving in 45 runs and scoring 61 times, adding 23 stolen bases in 32 attempts. Hyman led the league in hits and triples, ranking second in runs scored, third in doubles and batting average, fourth in total bases and fifth in stolen bases and eighth in on-base percentage.
Earning first team All-Region starting pitcher honors is Lincoln Memorial senior left-hander Ethan Elliott, who is 12-2 with a 2.23 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings. Elliott leads the SAC in wins, ranking second in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched and third in shutouts.
Newberry College junior left-hander Quinton Driggers is the first team All-Region relief pitcher. He has a 9-0 record and 1.40 ERA in 77 innings of work, adding six saves on the season. Driggers leads the SAC in ERA and appearances, ranking second in wins, third in strikeouts and fifth in saves. Opponents hit just .145 against Driggers on the year.
1st Team All-Region
C – John Michael Faile, North Greenville
1B – Adam Sasser, North Greenville
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
SS – Utah Jones, North Greenville
OF – Marquise Lanier, Chowan
OF – Ethan Baucom, UNC Pembroke
OF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
DH – Conner Durden, USC Aiken
UT – Joe Mason, Mount Olive
SP – Tucker Burgess, North Greenville
SP – Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Tucker Smith, Georgia Southwestern
RP – Quinton Driggers, Newberry
2nd Team All-Region
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
1B – Noah Jones, Queens
2B – Cal Gentry, Georgia College
3B – Drew Yniesta, Erskine
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
OF – Tyler Thompson, Carson-Newman
OF – Zavier Lushington, Young Harris
OF – Gage Taylor, Francis Marion
DH – Nate Stinson, Lincoln Memorial
UT – Jared Williams, North Greenville
SP – Michael Giacone, North Greenville
SP – Charles Hall, Tusculum
SP – Robert Girgis, Flagler
RP – Devin Dudal, Columbus State
Player of the Year: Utah Jones, North Greenville
Pitcher of the Year: Tucker Burgess, North Greenville
Coach of the Year: Russell Triplett, Newberry