ROCK HILL, S.C. – On the eve of the 2019 Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship, junior closer Christian Carpenter has earned All-South Atlantic Conference honors, as announced by the league office, Tuesday afternoon.

Carpenter, a native of Polkton, N.C. was named Honorable Mention All-SAC after leading the nation with a school-record 13 saves during the regular season. The right-hander is fourth in the league with 22 appearances and boasts a stellar 1.80 ERA, while holding opponents to a .224 batting average.

His 13 saves rank third all-time in the SAC record books for saves in a single season and he is just two saves shy of equaling the conference record. As the closer, he owns a 1-1 record and has fanned 40 batters, while issuing just nine walks in 30 innings of work on the mound, including just one free pass in his last 11 appearances.

The seventh-seeded Trojans are scheduled to open the conference tournament by squaring off against No. 6 seeded Carson-Newman, Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The five-day event will be played at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn. Thursday's games will be single elimination, while the Friday-Monday portion of the Championship is double-elimination.

2019 SAC Baseball All-Conference
All-SAC First Team
OF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
OF – Tyler Thompson, Carson-Newman
OF – Jed Bryant, Wingate
1B – Chris Salvey, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
DH – Nate Stinson, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Charles Hall, Tusculum
SP – Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Josh Bookbinder, Newberry
RP – Quinton Driggers, Newberry

All-SAC Second Team
OF – Seth Hunt, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Will Reddick, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Clayton Jeffries, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B – Noah Jones, Queens
2B – Dalton Lansdowne, Newberry
SS – Colin Allman, Newberry
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Nate Montgomery, Tusculum
DH – Heath Mitchem, Catawba
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Greg Valentine, Carson-Newman
SP – Austin Turgeon, Wingate
RP – Hunter Dula, Wingate

Honorable Mention
OF – Jarel McDade, Tusculum
OF – Nick Butler, Newberry
OF – E.J. Ranel, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B – Larry McCabe, Coker
2B – John Sharpe, Carson-Newman
SS – Casey Demko, Coker
3B – Bryson Ford, Tusculum
C – Andrew Llewellyn, Wingate
DH – Matthew Freeman, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Charlie Fessler, Newberry
SP – Tomas Sorcia, Jr., Newberry
SP - Alex Shirazi, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP - Riley Myers, Catawba
RP – Christian Carpenter, Anderson

All-Defensive Team
RF – Lee Poteat, Catawba
CF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
LF – Will Reddick, Lincoln Memorial
1B – Chris Salvey, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Lake Lybrand, Coker
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
P – Quinton Driggers, Newberry

Player of the Year
Danton Hyman, Newberry

Pitcher of the Year
Charles Hall, Tusculum

Freshman of the Year
Josh Bookbinder, Newberry

Coach of the Year
Russell Triplett, Newberry