Cochran and Astin Nab First Baseball Awards of 2012 Season

DECATUR, Ga.- Opening the 2012 season over the past week, the Great South Athletic Conference has hit the ground running with the baseball pitcher and player of the week. Earning the first pitcher of the week honor is Caleb Cochran of Piedmont and player goes to Caleb Astin of Huntingdon.

Senior Cochran helped his Lions start off the 2012 with a dominant performance in his win over Millsaps. He went seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk, striking out 12. After allowing a run in the first inning, he was perfect until the 7th when he walked the second batter.

Providing an offense assault for the Huntingdon baseball team, Astin was (6-for-8) with two RBIs, two runs and two stolen bases during the opening weekend. The junior shortstop batted .364 (4-for-11) with three runs in three games this weekend.

His best performance was in the second game of a doubleheader with Rhodes on Sunday, when he was 3-for-4 with two runs. Through five games, he leads Huntingdon with a .526 batting average, 10 hits and five runs.

The Lions are on the diamond again this weekend in nearby Lawrenceville, Ga. for the inaugural Coke, Georgia Division-III Challenge at Coolray Field, home of the Gwinnett Braves. The men take on Oglethorpe, Emory and LaGrange in the three-day tournament. Huntingdon plays host to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in a three game series Feb 17-19.