Six Conference Carolinas baseball players earn All-America recognition from NCBWA
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announced their All-America selections on Thursday and six Conference Carolinas individuals were recognized.
Young Harris relief pitcher Dylan Beck garnered first team honors while North Greenville pitcher Reece Fields and first baseman David Lewis were named to the second team. Outfielder Kody O'Connor and designated hitter Joey Rezek from UNC Pembroke earned third team recognition while Zach Murray of Young Harris garnered honorable mention recognition.
Beck was solid out of the bullpen for Young Harris, posting a 3.00 ERA which ranked him 45th in NCAA Division II and second in Conference Carolinas. His 25 appearances ranked 21st nationally and second in the league while his 11 saves led Conference Carolinas and ranked 11th in the country. He also posted nine wins, ranking him 19th in the country and second in the league. Beck finished the season with a WHIP of 2.11, ranking him fifth in Conference Carolinas.
North Greenville's Fields finished the season with a 3.45 ERA, ranking him sixth in Conference Carolinas while he led the league with an average of 6.70 hits allowed per nine innings. His 93 strikeouts ranks 21st nationally and fourth in Conference Carolinas while his 11 wins led the league and ranked fourth in the country. His miniscule WHIP of 0.99 ranked sixth in the nation and led Conference Carolinas.
Lewis, the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, ranked in the nation's top 10 in four different categories, all of which led Conference Carolinas. He blasted 24 home runs, ranking him third, while his .854 slugging percentage ranked fifth. He ranked seventh with 79 runs batted in and 175 total bases. He finished the season with a .380 batting average and 80 hits, both ranked second in Conference Carolinas.
O'Connor hit .362 for the Braves and ranked 21st in all of NCAA Division II with 152 total bases. He posted 70 hits, ranking him 70th in the country and third in Conference Carolinas. He laced 18 doubles and posted a slugging percentage of .714. O'Connor added 78 runs batted in, ranking him eighth in the country.
Rezek led Conference Carolinas with a .421 batting average, which also ranked 26th nationally. He registered a league-high 83 hits, ranking him 30th in the country. Rezek also ranked fifth in NCAA Division II with 22 home runs, which also ranked second in Conference Carolinas. He finished third in the league with 76 runs batted in, which was 13th in the country. His slugging percentage of .853 was sixth in the country while his 168 total bases ranked 11th.
Zach Murray of Young Harris led the way as he was named Southeast Region Pitcher of the Year. The senior from Cleveland, Ga., led Young Harris to a second-place finish in their first year in Conference Carolinas, recording a 9-2 record with a 3.21 ERA across 101.0 innings in 15 starts, including four complete games. The Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year racked up 99 strikeouts with just 7.93 hits allowed per nine innings and a 1.20 WHIP.
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