Friday, January 14, 2005

 

PIONEERS PLACE SEVEN ON PRESEASON ALL-SAC BASEBALL TEAM,

TUSCULUM PICKED SECOND IN COACHES' POLL

 

                ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum College placed a league-best seven players on the 2005 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Baseball Team announced officials Friday afternoon.  The Pioneers are also picked to finish second in the league race according to the SAC Coaches' Baseball Poll.

                Tusculum's Eric Butler and Skip Talarek were named to the All-SAC First Team, while Mat Galens, Wes Hill, Kenny Lewis, Adam Hicks and George Hanger were selected to the Second Team.

                The Pioneers received one first-place vote and 55 total points.  TC returns 25 lettermen from last year's 33-24 club that finished second in the league race.

                Catawba College is picked to repeat as SAC Champions, picking up 57 points, including six first place votes.  Carson-Newman College is third with 47 points and a first-place vote.  Wingate University is fourth with 42, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne College (30), Presbyterian College (28), Newberry College (19) and Mars Hill College (10).

                Butler, a 6-4, 235-pound junior from Morristown, Tenn., earned All-SAC First Team honors last season as the ace of the TC pitching corps.  Butler went 7-5 with a 3.40 earned run average while pitching a team-high 92.2 innings.  He also led the team in strikeouts (71) while recording a shutout.

                Talarek is named to the Preseason All-SAC First Team at third base after earning All-Conference Second Team honors in 2004.  The 6-3, 195-pound junior from Great Falls, Va., posted a .308 average to go along with 10 doubles, a triple and six home runs.  Talarek also scored 30 runs while driving in 28.

                The Second Team pitching staff is consisted of all Pioneers.  Wes Hill was Tusculum's closer out of the bullpen last season posting a 4-0 record, a 3.27 ERA and six saves.  Hill, a native of Stuarts Draft, Va., accounted for a pair of wins and a save at the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.  For his efforts, he was named to the SAC All-Tournament Team.

                Galens, the 2004 SAC Freshman of the Year, shined in his inaugural campaign.  The Louisville, Ky. sophomore went 6-2 with a 4.99 ERA a year ago, while striking out 58 and recording a shutout.  Galens earned SAC Pitcher of the Week honors once while tossing 57.2 innings on the year.

                Lewis returns to the Pioneer line-up after being red-shirted last season.  In 2003, the Scottsville, Va. junior led Tusculum's hurlers with a 6-1 record and a league-best 1.91 ERA.  After dropping his first start, Lewis was victorious in his next six decisions, including a win over Presbyterian at the NCAA Division II Tournament.

                Bristol, Tenn. senior Adam Hicks is the Second Team first baseman.  Hicks led the Pioneers hitting .368 with 14 doubles, five home runs and 27 runs batted in.

                Senior designated hitter George Hanger rounds out the All-SAC team for Tusculum.  The two-time All-Conference pick batted .330 last year with eight doubles and four home runs.  The Staunton, Va. native was one of the toughest players in the league to strike out as he fanned on 0.22 times per game.

                Tusculum opens the season Feb. 4 when they play at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.

 

- SAC -

 

                                      

                                                                                                                               

2005 SAC Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll

Pl.

School (1st Place Votes)

Pts.

1

Catawba (6)

57

2

TUSCULUM (1)

55

3

Carson-Newman (1)

47

4

Wingate

42

5

Lenoir-Rhyne

30

6

Presbyterian

28

7

Newberry

19

8

Mars Hill

10

 

2005 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Baseball Team

First Team

C - Jeff Mayo, Mars Hill

P - Matt Fairweather, Catawba

P - Chad Gillis, Carson-Newman

P - Eric Butler, Tusculum

1B - Matt Sigmon, Lenoir-Rhyne

2B - Matt Baker, Catawba

SS - Mark Smith, Catawba

3B - Skip Talarek, Tusculum

OF - Thomas Giles, Catawba

OF - Nathan Gravley, Carson-Newman

OF - Matt Wiley, Lenoir-Rhyne

DH - Jimbo Davis, Catawba

 

Second Team

C - Robert Rodebaugh, Presbyterian

P - Mat Galens, Tusculum

P - Wes Hill, Tusculum

P - Kenny Lewis, Tusculum

1B - Adam Hicks, Tusculum

2B - T.J. Graves, Carson-Newman

SS - Jonathan Mary, Carson-Newman

3B - Tim Bowman, Wingate

OF - Matt Russell, Mars Hill

OF - Brian Chapman, Carson-Newman

OF - Lane Strobel, Mars Hill

DH - George Hanger, Tusculum