Rock Hill, S.C.----The 2011 Food Lion SAC Tournament champion Wingate University baseball team has been picked to finish second in the preseason SAC poll, voted on by the league coaches. Wingate had a league-high six players selected to the preseason All-SAC team. The Bulldogs had three players earn first team honors, while three more were named to the second team.
Defending regular season champion Catawba was picked to finish first in the poll, followed by Wingate and Tusculum. Lincoln Memorial and Newberry rounded out the top five, followed by Carson-Newman and Mars Hill. Anderson was picked eighth, with Lenoir-Rhyne and Brevard rounding out the poll.
The Bulldogs went 34-22 in the 2011 season, while going 17-10 in the SAC, good for a second place finish. The Bulldogs went undefeated in the SAC Tournament, culminating with a 7-1 victory over Catawba in the championship game. The tournament title was Wingate’s first since 1998, while the Bulldogs also earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2001. Wingate went 19-5 in the SAC in 2010 to win the regular season title. The 36 league wins the past two years are the most conference victories in a two-year span in school history.
Senior outfielder
Dodson McPherson (Graham, N.C.), senior infielder
Chris Vazquez (Tyrone, Ga.) and redshirt junior first baseman
Brian Yeung (Raleigh, N.C.) all earned first team All-SAC preseason honors. Senior outfielder
Casey Allison (Horse Shoe, N.C.), redshirt junior right-hander
Josh Karr (Richmond, Va.) and junior right-hander
Justin Somers (Wilmington, N.C.) were named to the second team.
McPherson piled up the awards in 2011, earning SAC and Region Player of the Year honors, while also being named the South Atlantic Conference Male Athlete of the Year. The All-SAC and All-Region selection earned first team All-American honors from the NCBWA and the ABCA, while earning second team accolades from Daktronics. He finished fifth in the voting for the Tino Martinez National Player of the Year Award.
McPherson led the SAC in hits (92), runs (65), homers (17), RBI (78), triples (five) and slugging percentage (.748). He finished second in the league in batting average (.400), total bases (167) and on-base percentage (.466). He ranked in the top 10 nationally in hits (third), RBI (second), total bases (fourth), homers (fifth), runs (eighth) and slugging percentage (10th). The Graham High School product led the team with 29 multi-hit games and 19 multi-RBI games. He reached base safely in 50 consecutive games and 55 of 56 in the 2011 season. McPherson had two hitting streaks of at least 14 games in the 2011 season. He either scored a run or drove in a run in 50 games on the year.
Yeung also earned All-SAC and All-Region honors, while earning second team All-American honors from the ABCA and third team accolades from Daktronics. Yeung led the nation with 26 doubles in 2011, while also leading the league and ranking third nationally with 170 total bases. He finished second in the conference with 16 homers and 68 RBI, while hitting .358 on the year. His .691 slugging percentage also ranked second in the conference, along with his four triples.
Yeung’s 26 doubles rank third on the SAC single-season charts, while his 170 total bases are good for sixth-best in league history. He set a SAC record against West Virginia State, going seven-for-seven with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI and seven runs scored. The hits, doubles and runs scored were all single-game league records, while also setting a record with 16 total bases. Yeung had a 20-game hitting streak during the 2011 season, while collecting an extra-base hit in 19 of those contests.
Vazquez hit .301 in the 2011 season, with four homers, 12 doubles and 32 RBI. He drew a team-best 35 walks and had an on-base percentage of .411. Vazquez scored 46 runs while piling up 86 total bases. He also had a team-best five sacrifice flies and four sacrifice hits, while leading the Wingate defense with 124 assists.
Allison had a solid junior season for the Bulldogs, with 10 homers, 23 doubles, 46 RBI and 48 runs scored. He had 61 hits on the season, compiling 110 total bases and a .516 slugging percentage on the season. Allison finished second in the SAC in doubles, fifth in total bases and ninth in homers. He also had a team-best 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts in 2011.
Somers led the SAC with a 2.60 ERA while going 7-4 on the season. The team’s closer to start the season, Somers notched a team-best five saves, which was good for fourth in the SAC. He piled up 77 strikeouts in 62.1 innings of work. Somers allowed only six extra-base hits all season. In his first start he tossed five scoreless innings at league-champion Catawba, striking out five to earn the win. Somers went 8 2/3 innings in the win against Carson-Newman, striking out seven. He struck out eight in the win over Anderson, while capping the regular season with five innings of one-hit ball against Brevard, striking out eight. His best performance came in the SAC Tournament against LMU, going 7 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run, striking out 11 on 137 pitches in the 3-1 victory.
Karr went 3-1 in 12 appearances out of the Wingate bullpen in 2011, compiling a team-best ERA of 2.20. He registered a pair of saves on the season, striking out 20 in 16 1/3 innings of work. Karr allowed opponents to hit just .169 against him last year. He pitched 1 2/3 innings in the SAC tournament win over LMU, striking out three without allowing a hit to nail down the save. Karr also pitched the final inning of the SAC title game without allowing a hit.
The Bulldogs begin their 2012 campaign Saturday, Feb. 4, hosting Concord (W.Va.) in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Wingate will host defending regional champion Mount Olive for a three-game series the following weekend, beginning Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.
2012 SAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Team Points (1st-place votes)
1. Catawba 96 (8)
2. Wingate 91 (2)
3. Tusculum 79
4. Lincoln Memorial 59
5. Newberry 55
6. Carson-Newman 54
7. Mars Hill 41
8. Anderson 31
9. Lenoir-Rhyne 29
10. Brevard 15
2012 SAC Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team
First Team
C – Nate Reid, Tusculum
P – Nick Lomascolo, Catawba
P – JJ Jankowski, Catawba
P – Craig Goodman, Tusculum
RP – Tyler Sturkie, Newberry
1B – Brian Yeung, Wingate
2B – Chris Vazquez, Wingate
SS – Michael Bueker, Mars Hill
3B – Chris Dula, Catawba
OF – Dodson McPherson, Wingate
OF – Stephan Arcieri, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Alexi Colon, Tusculum
DH – Garret Furr, Catawba
Second Team
C – Mason Guymon, Carson-Newman
P – Austin Johnson, Lincoln Memorial
P – Justin Somers, Wingate
P – Dylan Hochevar, Tusculum
RP – Josh Karr, Wingate
1B – Randy O’Dell, Brevard
2B – Andy Vogel, Newberry
SS* – Joseph Horsely, Lincoln Memorial
SS* – Thomas Padro, Anderson
3B – Matt Henricksen, Tusculum
OF – Cody Baker, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Casey Allison, Wingate
OF^ – Kramer Clark, Brevard
OF^ – Lucas Mohon, Carson-Newman
DH – Gelson Perez, Lincoln Memorial
* Tie for second team SS
^ Tie for final second team OF spot
