6 Hawks Earn USA South Baseball Awards

2022 USA South Baseball Awards Announced

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The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its 2022 All-Conference awards for baseball. Individually, LaGrange's Joe Ruth was named Player of the Year while his coach, David Kelton, was named Coach of the Year. The N.C. Wesleyan pitching duo of Derrick Carter and Hunter Hill were named Pitcher of the Year and Rookie Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Brevard's Frankie Vasquez was named Rookie of the Year to round out the individual honors. Finally, the USA South recognized an All-Sportsmanship Team, consisting of one member from each competing school.

All nominees were submitted by each institution and the awards are voted on by the baseball coach at each institution. The divisional team voting is completed only by those coaches in the particular division. The first team all-conference and individual award voting is completed by all coaches.

Ruth, a junior infielder from Chiefland, Florida, becomes the third Panther in the program's history to earn USA South Baseball Player of the Year. He leads the Conference in several offensive categories including batting average (.442), hits (80), doubles (17), RBI (69), and total bases (131). He has also compiled a .464 on-base percentage and a .724 slugging percentage to go along with 57 runs scored and ten home runs. In USA South games-only, Ruth posted a .425 batting average, a .454 on-base percentage, and a .655 slugging percentage with 31 runs scored, a League-best 31 RBI, eight doubles, and four home runs. For his efforts, Ruth earns First Team All-Conference and First Team West Division accolades this season and finds himself on the All-Conference team for the third consecutive time. Finally, Ruth was named USA South Player of the Week once this spring.

Carter, a senior from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, becomes just the second player in Conference history to be named USA South Pitcher of the Year in consecutive seasons (Greg Van Sickler, Shenandoah, 2010 and 2011). He currently has a 7-2 record in 12 appearances, all of which were starts, and leads the Conference with 78.1 innings pitched, a 2.53 ERA, and 83 strikeouts. In Conference contests-only, Carter posted a 5-2 record and a 2.54 ERA with League-highs of 49.2 innings pitched and 57 strikeouts. This season, he collects First Team All-Conference and First Team East Division honors as a pitcher for the second consecutive season. Finally, Carter was named USA South Pitcher of the Week once this spring.

Vasquez, a freshman infielder from Pembroke Pines, Florida, is the second consecutive Tornado to be named USA South Baseball Rookie of the Year. Vasquez has compiled a .358 batting average, a .427 on-base percentage, and a .496 slugging percentage while scoring 23 runs with 33 RBI, eight doubles, three home runs, and three stolen bases. Against USA South opposition, Vasquez finished with a .313 batting average, a .382 on-base percentage, and a .433 slugging percentage with 11 runs scored, 19 RBI, five doubles, one home run, and three stolen bases. For his play this spring, Vasquez was named Second Team All-West Division at third base and USA South Rookie of the Week five times. 

A freshman pitcher from Asheboro, North Carolina, Hill is the second consecutive Battling Bishop, and the third in the past four seasons, to earn USA South Baseball Rookie Pitcher of the Year accolades. Exclusively coming out of the bullpen, Hill has posted a 2-0 record in nine appearances. In 21.0 innings pitched, Hill has compiled a 2.57 ERA with 18 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .257. Against USA South foes-only, Hill was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched with seven strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .237. For his efforts on the mound, Hill was named Second Team All-East Division at relief pitcher and USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Week twice this season. 

In his ninth season at the helm of LaGrange, Kelton earns his second USA South Coach of the Year honor. Currently ranked fifth in the nation (D3baseball.com/NCBWA), the Panthers captured the program's third USA South Regular Season crown, this year of the divisional nature, by accumulating a 15-3 Conference record. Overall, LaGrange sits at 32-6 and has been ranked nationally since the end of the first week of the season. The Panthers now head into the USA South tournament as the top-seed from the West Division and will host one of the two first round, four-team, double-elimination tournaments, looking to capture the program's fifth consecutive title.

The 2022 USA South Baseball All-Conference Team: