SAC Baseball Honorees Headlined by Catawba’s Dula, Lomascolo

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The 2013 SAC baseball awards were announced on Wednesday, headlined by Catawba first baseman Chris Dula's selection as the conference's Player of the Year and Indians' left-hander Nick Lomascolo as its Pitcher of the Year.

Dula nearly won the conference's Triple Crown, finishing first in batting average at .401, first in home runs with 13 and tied for second in RBI with 47. The junior also led the league with a .488 on-base percentage and a .731 slugging percentage. He hit safely in 40 of his 46 games played this season.

Lomascolo, meanwhile, tied for the SAC lead with nine wins and ranked fourth in ERA at 1.92. His 106 strikeouts were by far the most in the conference – outpacing the next-highest total by 27 – and he walked just 19 batters in a league-high 79.2 innings pitched. The senior also won the award in 2011.

Dula and Lomascolo led Catawba to the SAC regular-season championship by going 21-6 in conference games. The Indians finished the regular season 33-14 overall.

Joining Dula on the All-SAC First Team infield were Lincoln Memorial catcher Nick Pressley, Catawba second baseman Julio Zubillaga, LMU shortstop Curt Fuqua and Newberry third baseman Ryan Cranmer.

Pressley hit .325 with 27 RBI and threw out eight potential base stealers, while Zubillaga hit .329 with 35 RBI and Fuqua finished with a .293 batting average, seven home runs and 39 RBI. Cranmer ranked third in the SAC in batting average at .376, tied for second in RBI with 47, tied for second in stolen bases with 18 and tied for third in home runs with nine.

Wingate's Thomas Spitz, Lenoir-Rhyne's Ivan Vieitez and Catawba's Keaton Hawks made up the All-Conference First Team outfield. Spitz was fourth in the league with a .373 batting average, Vieitez was sixth at .361, and Hawks was fourth in RBI with 46 and fifth in home runs with eight.

Catawba's Garrett Furr, who hit .280 with six home runs and 28 RBI, was the first-team designated hitter.

Along with Lomascolo, Newberry starter Jonathan Rosenberger, Wingate starter Olen Little and Tusculum reliever John-Austin Shepard made up the All-SAC First Team pitching staff. Little led the conference with a 1.50 ERA, Shepard ranked second at 1.74 and Rosenberger was fifth at 2.33. Rosenberger won eight games, Little won six and Shepard led the league with nine saves.

The SAC also announced its All-Conference Second Team on Wednesday. Wingate catcher Josh Clark, Newberry first baseman Albert Baur, LMU second baseman Andre Rodriguez, Lenoir-Rhyne shortstop Dalton Hall and Wingate third baseman Dalton Hall made up the infield, while Brevard's Champ Stuart, Catawba's Paul Kronenfeld and Newberry's Jermale Paige formed the outfield.

Tusculum's Joe Polichetti earned second-team DH accolades, while Carson-Newman starter Chris Armstrong, Wingate starter TJ Rinoski, Tusculum starter Taylor Rakes and Anderson reliever Landon Beck were named second-team pitchers.

Rinoski was also named the SAC Freshman of the Year after going 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA – the conference's third-best.

The SAC's top defenders were also recognized as members of the Gold Glove Team. LMU third baseman Jacob West, LMU outfielder Cody Baker and Catawba outfielder Blake Houston joined Pressley, Baur, Zubillaga, Hall, Spitz and Rakes as recipients of the distinction.

Catawba's Jim Gantt earned SAC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Indians to their eighth conference title in school history. This is the sixth time Gantt has received the honor.

2013 SAC Baseball Awards

SAC Player of the Year: Chris Dula, Catawba

SAC Pitcher of the Year: Nick Lomascolo, Catawba

SAC Freshman of the Year: TJ Rinoski, Wingate

SAC Coach of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba

All-SAC First Team

C - Nick Pressley, LMU

1B - Chris Dula, CAT #

2B - Julio Zubillaga, CAT

SS - Curt Fuqua, LMU

3B - Ryan Cranmer, NEW

OF - Thomas Spitz, WU

OF - Ivan Vieitez, L-R

OF - Keaton Hawks, CAT

DH - Garrett Furr, CAT *#

SP - Nick Lomascolo, CAT ^#

SP - Jonathan Rosenberger, NEW

SP - Olen Little, WU

RP - John-Austin Shepard, TC *

All-SAC Second Team

C - Josh Clark, WU

1B - Albert Baur, NEW

2B - Andre Rodriguez, LMU *

SS - Dalton Hall, L-R

3B - Blake Prince, WU

OF - Champ Stuart, BC ^

OF - Paul Kronenfeld, CAT

OF - Jermale Paige, NEW

DH - Joe Polichetti, TC

SP - Chris Armstrong, C-N

SP - TJ Rinoski, WU

SP - Taylor Rakes, TC ^

RP - Landon Beck, AU

SAC All-Defensive Team

C - Nick Pressley, LMU

1B - Albert Baur, NEW

2B - Julio Zubillaga, CAT %&

SS - Dalton Hall, L-R

3B - Jacob West, LMU

OF - Thomas Spitz, WU

OF- Cody Baker, LMU %

OF - Blake Houston, CAT

P - Taylor Rakes, TC

[2013 SAC Baseball Stat Champions]