ROCK HILL, S.C. - The 2013 South Atlantic Conference baseball awards were announced on Wednesday, with sophomore reliever Landon Beck earning a spot on the league's second team.
The hard-throwing right-hander ranked second in the league with eight saves in 21 appearances. A native of Hartwell. Ga., Beck posted a 1-2 record on the season along with a 3.09 ERA. He tossed 32 innings, all in relief and struck out 34 batters, while walking 16.
The All-SAC teams were headlined by Catawba first baseman Chris
Dula's selection as the conference's Player of the Year and
Indians' left-hander Nick Lomascolo as its Pitcher of the Year.
Dula nearly won the conference's Triple Crown, finishing first in
batting average at .401, first in home runs with 13 and tied for
second in RBI with 47. The junior also led the league with a .488
on-base percentage and a .731 slugging percentage. He hit safely in
40 of his 46 games played this season.
Lomascolo, meanwhile, tied for the SAC lead with nine wins and
ranked fourth in ERA at 1.92. His 106 strikeouts were by far the
most in the conference - outpacing the next-highest total by 27 -
and he walked just 19 batters in a league-high 79.2 innings
pitched. The senior also won the award in 2011.
Dula and Lomascolo led Catawba to the SAC regular-season
championship by going 21-6 in conference games. The Indians
finished the regular season 33-14 overall.
Joining Dula on the All-SAC First Team infield were Lincoln
Memorial catcher Nick Pressley, Catawba second baseman Julio
Zubillaga, LMU shortstop Curt Fuqua and Newberry third baseman Ryan
Cranmer.
Pressley hit .325 with 27 RBI and threw out eight potential base
stealers, while Zubillaga hit .329 with 35 RBI and Fuqua finished
with a .293 batting average, seven home runs and 39 RBI. Cranmer
ranked third in the SAC in batting average at .376, tied for second
in RBI with 47, tied for second in stolen bases with 18 and tied
for third in home runs with nine.
Wingate's Thomas Spitz, Lenoir-Rhyne's Ivan Vieitez and Catawba's
Keaton Hawks made up the All-Conference First Team outfield. Spitz
was fourth in the league with a .373 batting average, Vieitez was
sixth at .361, and Hawks was fourth in RBI with 46 and fifth in
home runs with eight.
Catawba's Garrett Furr, who hit .280 with six home runs and 28 RBI,
was the first-team designated hitter.
Along with Lomascolo, Newberry starter Jonathan Rosenberger,
Wingate starter Olen Little and Tusculum reliever John-Austin
Shepard made up the All-SAC First Team pitching staff. Little led
the conference with a 1.50 ERA, Shepard ranked second at 1.74 and
Rosenberger was fifth at 2.33. Rosenberger won eight games, Little
won six and Shepard led the league with nine saves.
The SAC also announced its All-Conference Second Team on Wednesday.
Wingate catcher Josh Clark, Newberry first baseman Albert Baur, LMU
second baseman Andre Rodriguez, Lenoir-Rhyne shortstop Dalton Hall
and Wingate third baseman Dalton Hall made up the infield, while
Brevard's Champ Stuart, Catawba's Paul Kronenfeld and Newberry's
Jermale Paige formed the outfield.
Tusculum's Joe Polichetti earned second-team DH accolades, while
Carson-Newman starter Chris Armstrong, Wingate starter TJ Rinoski
and Tusculum starter Taylor Rakes joined Beck as second-team
pitchers.
Rinoski was also named the SAC Freshman of the Year after going 6-1
with a 1.76 ERA - the conference's third-best.
The SAC's top defenders were also recognized as members of the Gold
Glove Team. LMU third baseman Jacob West, LMU outfielder Cody
Baker and Catawba outfielder Blake Houston joined Pressley, Baur,
Zubillaga, Hall, Spitz and Rakes as recipients of the
distinction.
Catawba's Jim Gantt earned SAC Coach of the Year honors after
leading the Indians to their eighth conference title in school
history. This is the sixth time Gantt has received the honor.
2013 SAC Baseball Awards
SAC Player of the Year: Chris Dula, Catawba
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Nick Lomascolo, Catawba
SAC Freshman of the Year: TJ Rinoski, Wingate
SAC Coach of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba
All-SAC First Team
C - Nick Pressley, LMU
1B - Chris Dula, CAT #
2B - Julio Zubillaga, CAT
SS - Curt Fuqua, LMU
3B - Ryan Cranmer, NEW
OF - Thomas Spitz, WU
OF - Ivan Vieitez, L-R
OF - Keaton Hawks, CAT
DH - Garrett Furr, CAT *#
SP - Nick Lomascolo, CAT ^#
SP - Jonathan Rosenberger, NEW
SP - Olen Little, WU
RP - John-Austin Shepard, TC *
All-SAC Second Team
C - Josh Clark, WU
1B - Albert Baur, NEW
2B - Andre Rodriguez, LMU *
SS - Dalton Hall, L-R
3B - Blake Prince, WU
OF - Champ Stuart, BC ^
OF - Paul Kronenfeld, CAT
OF - Jermale Paige, NEW
DH - Joe Polichetti, TC
SP - Chris Armstrong, C-N
SP - TJ Rinoski, WU
SP - Taylor Rakes, TC ^
RP - Landon Beck, AU
SAC Gold Glove Team
C - Nick Pressley, LMU
1B - Albert Baur, NEW
2B - Julio Zubillaga, CAT %&
SS - Dalton Hall, L-R
3B - Jacob West, LMU
OF - Thomas Spitz, WU
OF- Cody Baker, LMU %
OF - Blake Houston, CAT
P - Taylor Rakes, TC
* 2012 All-SAC First Team Selection
^ 2012 All-SAC Second Team Selection
# 2011 All-SAC First Team Selection
% 2012 Gold Glove Team Selection
& 2011 Gold Glove Team Selection
