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ROCK HILL, SC –Lenoir-Rhyne College senior catcher Matt Keever, who led the South Atlantic Conference with a .430 batting average, and Carson-Newman College senior outfielder Brian Chapman, who led the SAC in slugging percentage, runs batted in and home runs, were named Co-Players of the Year in baseball, the league announced today.

Tusculum junior pitcher Brent Gabel, who was 9-0 with a 3.00 earned run average, was named SAC Pitcher of the Year.

Keever (Hickory, N.C.), tied a school record with most hits in a single season with 83. His .430 batting average is the fourth best in SAC history. Chapman (Tazewell, TN) had a slugging percentage of .757. He had 17 home runs, which tied for first in the league, and had a conference-best 70 RBI.

Gabel (Conneautville, Pa.) helped lead the Pioneers to a share of the conference title. He held opposing batters to a .256 batting average and was second in the league with 67 total strikeouts.

Newberry College outfielder T.J. McCord (Manning, SC) was named Freshman of the Year. He hit .338 with 29 RBI.

Mars Hill College coach Dan Taylor, who guided the Lions to fourth-place in the conference, the best-ever finish for a Mars Hill team, was named Coach of the Year.

Co-Champions Catawba and Tusculum led the way with six representatives each on the All-Conference Team. Lenoir-Rhyne had five players named to the team, while Carson-Newman and Mars Hill each had four. Presbyterian had one representative.

Tusculum’s Josh Wolff, a Second Team All-Conference outfielder, was named the SAC’s Scholar Athlete for baseball.

Wolff (Louisville, Ky) is a junior history education major with a 3.33 GPA. He is third on the team with a .355 batting average and ranked about the league leaders with 16 doubles.

Wolff has been named to the Tusculum College President’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He also volunteers at summer baseball camps for children and is involved with a mentor reading program for local elementary schools.

Regular season statistical champions and senior awards were also announced.

2005 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARD WINNERS
FIRST TEAM
Catcher – Matt Keever, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher – Matt Fairweather, Catawba
Pitcher – Gary Lee, Mars Hill
Pitcher – Brent Gabel, Tusculum
1st base – Aaron Rimer, Catawba
2nd base – Matt Baker, Catawba
2nd base – Chris O’Connor, Mars Hill
Shortstop – Joe Castagner, Mars Hill
3rd base – Skip Talarek, Tusculum
Outfield – Brian Chapman, Carson-Newman
Outfield – Nathan Gravley, Carson-Newman
Outfield – Lane Strobel, Mars Hill
Designated hitter – Jimbo Davis, Catawba
SECOND TEAM
Catcher – Matt Smith, Catawba
Pitcher – Matt Teague, Carson-Newman
Pitcher – Matt Smith, Catawba
Pitcher – Jesse Jordan, Lenoir-Rhyne
Pitcher – Kenny Lewis, Tusculum
1st base – Derrick Calkin, Carson-Newman
2nd base – Tim Brown, Tusculum
Shortstop – Taylor MacCurdy, Lenoir-Rhyne
3rd base – Matt Bodie, Presbyterian
Outfield – John Pugh, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield – Matt Wiley, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield – Josh Wolff, Tusculum
Designated hitter – George Hanger, Tusculum

COACH OF THE YEAR – Daniel Taylor, Mars Hill
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – T.J. McCord, Newberry
PITCHER OF THE YEAR – Brent Gabel, Tusculum
Co-PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Matt Keever, Lenoir-Rhyne; Brian Chapman, Carson-Newman
SAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – Josh Wolff, Tusculum

STAT CHAMPIONS
Matt Keever, Lenoir-Rhyne, Batting Average, .430
Nathan Gravley, Carson-Newman, Doubles Per Game, 0.43
Brian Chapman, Carson-Newman, RBIs Per Game, 1.52; Home Runs Per Game, 0.37
Lane Stobel, Mars Hill, Triples Per Game, 0.09
Kenny Reed, Tusculum, Stolen Bases Per Game, 0.48
Brent Gabel, Tusculum, Pitching Victories, 9
Derrick Calkin, Carson-Newman, Earned Run Average, 2.98
Zach Evans, Catawba, Saves, 9
Eric Brown, Wingate, Strikeouts Per Nine Innings, 10.86
Lenoir-Rhyne, Team Batting Average, 0.349
Lenoir-Rhyne, Scoring Per Game, 7.65
Tusculum, Earned Run Average, 3.50
Tusculum, Win/Loss Percentage .739 (34- 12)
Catawba, Fielding Percentage, 0.959