Wednesday, April 16, 2008

SEVEN PIONEERS NAMED TO ALL-SAC BASEBALL TEAM,
DUSTIN MORROW NAMED SAC SCHOLAR ATHLETE

Maikol Gonzalez All-SAC 1st Team	Christian Rosa All-SAC 1st Team	Dustin Morrow SAC Scholar Athlete All-SAC 1st Team	Boo Morrow All-SAC 1st Team

HICKORY, N.C. --- The Tusculum College baseball team placed seven players on the 2008 All-South Atlantic Conference Team, including Dustin Morrow who was also named the SAC Scholar Athlete Baseball. The announcement came Wednesday night at the league’s baseball awards ceremony, held on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College, site of this year’s conference tournament.

Maikol Gonzalez, Christian Rosa and the Morrow brothers, Dustin and Boo were named to the All-SAC First Team, while Raymond Ruggles, Mat Galens and Carlos Rivera garnered Second Team recognition.

Gonzalez, a senior second baseman from Venezuela, earns First Team honors for a second straight year. The 2007 SAC and South Region Player of the Year, leads the conference in batting average (.470) and hits (85). His 85 hits are also tops in the nation, while his batting average is seventh in NCAA Division II. The 2007 All-American is also nationally ranked in several other categories including fifth in runs scored (59), 11^th in doubles (19), 10^th in triples (6), 12^th in total bases (131), 33^rd in on-base percentage (.522) and 33^rd in stolen bases (23). He enters this week’s Food Lion SAC Tournament riding a 22-game hitting streak.

Rosa, a senior from Puerto Rico, is the All-SAC First Team catcher for a second straight season. The 2007 All-Region and All-American standout is hitting .426 (38^th in NCAA II) with a SAC-best 63 runs scored (5^th in NCAA II), while also leading the league in on-base percentage (.532 – 19^th in NCAA II). Rosa is 35^th nationally in hits (69), 10^th in triples (6), 32^nd in slugging percentage (.747), 12^th in total bases (121) and 41^st in walks (30).

Dustin Morrow, a senior first baseman from Lexington, Ky., garners All-Conference recognition for a second straight year, but initial First Team honor. Morrow, a graduate of Paul Dunbar High School, is currently fourth on the team, hitting .373 with seven doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI.

Boo Morrow, a junior right-handed pitcher from Lexington, Ky., makes his first appearance on the All-SAC Team as one of the top three starting pitchers in the league. Morrow leads the conference with his 1.47 ERA (10^th in NCAA II), while posting a perfect 6-0 record (47^th in NCAA II). Boo has recorded 43 strikeouts in his 55 innings of work, while limiting the opposition to hit just .228 against him. Morrow enters this week’s SAC Tournament with a perfect 10-0 career record.

Carlos Rivera All-SAC 2nd Team	Raymond Ruggles All-SAC 2nd Team	Mat Galens All-SAC 2nd Team

Rivera, a senior outfielder from Leesburg, Va., makes his second appearance on the All-SAC Team. The 2007 All-Region and All-America honoree is third on the team, hitting .397 while scoring 58 runs (14^th in NCAA II), 73 hits (22^nd in NCAA II), seven doubles (9^th in NCAA II) and 116 total bases (40^th in NCAA II).

Ruggles, a senior right-handed pitcher from Newport, Tenn., is second on the squad in ERA (1.62 – 16^th in NCAA II), while accounting for a 4-2 record. In his two seasons at TC, he is 12-6 with a 2.26 ERA, which is currently the best in school history. He has 43 strikeouts to his credit, while walking only seven in his 50 innings of action. He is 43^rd in the country in hits (6.84) and walks (1.62) per nine innings pitched.

Galens, a senior from Louisville, Ky., is the Second Team relief pitcher. Galens makes his third appearance on the All-SAC Team, posting a 3-1 record in his 18 appearances, posting a pair of saves and combined on two shutouts. The 2007 All-Region selection has tallied a 16-5 career mark to go along with nine saves. His 72 career mound appearances are tied for the most in school history, while he is third all-time with 172 career strikeouts.

Dustin Morrow becomes the fifth Pioneer in the last eight years to be named SAC Scholar Athlete for Baseball (Shane Banks-2001; Mike Calano-2003; Josh Wolff-2005; Kevin Hammons-2007; Dustin Morrow-2008). In the classroom, Dustin has a 3.94 cumulative grade point average as Secondary Math Education major. He was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team in 2007 and is a member of Alpha Chi Honor Society.

On campus and in the community, Morrow serves as secretary and budget committee chair of the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has helped raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Tsunami relief and has worked to provide food baskets and gifts at Christmas for needy families. He has helped with cleaning and painting at a therapeutic horseback riding center and a river picnic area.

Tusculum (34-12) is the No. 3 seed in this year’s SAC Tournament and will face fourth-seed and tournament host Lenoir-Rhyne on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers have won 10 of their last 11 games and are ranked No. 29 in NCAA Division II.

- SAC -

2008 All-South Atlantic Conference Baseball Team

FIRST TEAM
C - Christian Rosa, Tusculum
SP - Brett Hontz, Carson-Newman
SP - Blake Ketner, Catawba
SP - Boo Morrow, Tusculum
RP - Tim Holmes, Catawba
1B - Dustin Morrow, Tusculum
2B - Maikol Gonzalez, Tusculum
SS - Chris Ahearn, Catawba
3B - Dan Ford, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF - David Thomas, Catawba
OF - Jerry Sands, Catawba
OF - Nick Achberger, Carson-Newman
DH - Brett Hatley, Catawba

SECOND TEAM
C - Ryan Query, Catawba*
C - Mike Dobre, Mars Hill*
SP - Raymond Ruggles, Tusculum
SP - Alex Fairweather, Catawba
SP - Brandon Petty, Newberry
RP - Mat Galens, Tusculum
1B - Derek Long, Carson-Newman
2B - Langdon Potts, Carson-Newman
SS - Derek Treece, Lincoln Memorial
3B - Craige Lyerly, Catawba
OF - Carlos Rivera, Tusculum
OF - Austin Boehme, Mars Hill
OF - Jason Gray, Carson-Newman
DH - Nick Martin, Newberry
* tie

SAC Coach of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba
SAC Freshman of the Year: Josh McElwee, Newberry
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Brett Hontz, Carson-Newman
SAC Coach of the Year - David Thomas, Catawba
SAC Scholar Athlete for Baseball: Dustin Morrow, Tusculum

BASEBALL STAT CHAMPIONS
Maikol Gonzalez, Tusculum, Batting Average, .475
Christian Rosa, Tusculum, On-Base Percentage, .536
Christian Rosa, Tusculum, Runs Scored Per Game, 1.4
Langdon Potts, Carson-Newman, Triples Per Game, .160
Jerry Sands, Catawba, RBI Per Game, 1.39
Jerry Sands, Catawba, Home Runs Per Game, .370
David Thomas, Catawba, Slugging Percentage, .787
TeWayne Willis, Lincoln Memorial, Stolen Bases Per Game, .750
Boo Morrow, Tusculum, Earned Run Average, 1.47
Brett Hontz, Carson-Newman, Pitching Victories, 9
Josh McElwee, Newberry, Strikeouts Per Game, 11.55
Mars Hill, Team Batting Average, .352
Catawba, Slugging Percentage, .529
Lincoln Memorial, On-Base Percentage, .426
Catawba, Runs Per Game, 8.15
Mars Hill, Doubles Per Game, 2.68
Tusculum, Triples Per Game, .62
Catawba, Home Runs Per Game, 1.39
Catawba. RBI Per Game, 7.57
Catawba, Stolen Bases Per Game, 1.76
Tusculum, Earned Run Average, 3.23
Lenoir-Rhyne, Strikeouts Per Game, 7.47