Three Hawks earn All-Conference baseball honors

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  – Three Huntingdon players were recognized with the release of the USA South All-Conference baseball awards on Wednesday.  

Freshman Tucker Duke was named Rookie Pitcher of the Year, junior shortstop Wes Powell was named first-team All-Conference and junior pitcher Wallace Henry was named second-team All-Conference. Senior Garrett Breland was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

This is the third straight season Powell has earned All-Conference recognition. He was a second-team All-Conference selection as a freshman and sophomore. Duke is the second Hawk to be named Rookie Pitcher of the Year since Huntingdon joined the USA South.

In 15 appearances this season, Duke is 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings. He is fourth on the team in strikeouts and leads Huntingdon's relief pitchers in wins, ERA and innings pitched.

Against conference opponents, Duke is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA this season. In his first conference win of the season, Duke had a season-high nine strikeouts and pitched five scoreless innings of no-hit ball in a 5-4 win over LaGrange.

Powell is tied for fourth in Division III with 62 hits and leads the Hawks with a .403 batting average, 39 runs and a .453 on-base percentage. He is tied for the team lead with a .500 slugging percentage, is third on the team with 25 RBIs and 10 stolen bases and is tied for third with eight doubles.

For players with at least 150 at-bats this season, Powell's .403 batting average ranks fourth in Division III.

In his first season with the Hawks, Henry has a 5-2 record, one save, a 2.80 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 61 innings. His five wins are tied for the team lead and his 2.80 ERA ranks third in the USA South for pitchers with at least 60 innings pitched this season.

Henry threw a complete-game shutout in a 7-0 win over Brevard and had a season-high eight strikeouts in a win over Methodist.

Piedmont senior outfielder Brady Ballstadt was named USA South Player of the Year for a second straight season and LaGrange senior Austin Fain was named Pitcher of the Year. Pfeiffer freshman designated hitter Bryce Marsh was named Rookie of the Year and Piedmont's Justin Scali was recognized as the Coach of the Year.

To view the complete All-Conference awards, click here.