Catawba Ranked 24th, Three SAC Players Recognized in NCBWA Preseason Release
Catawba has been ranked 24th in the nation and three SAC players have earned individual recognition in the 2014 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason release, the organization announced on Thursday.
AUSTIN, Texas – Catawba has been ranked 24th in the nation and three SAC players have earned individual recognition in the 2014 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason release, the organization announced on Thursday.
Catawba – which also opens the season ranked 24th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll – went 36-16 overall last year and won the SAC regular-season title by going 21-6 in conference play.
Tusculum reliever John-Austin Shepard was named to the preseason NCBWA All-America Second Team. The 2013 All-SAC honoree went 6-3 with nine saves and a 1.96 ERA last season for the Pioneers.
Shepard is also one of the three SAC players selected to the preseason NCBWA All-Southeast Region Team, joining Coker first baseman Fico Kondla and Lenoir-Rhyne outfielder Ivan Vieitez.
Kondla hit .418 with 16 doubles and 24 stolen bases last year for Coker, while Vieitez finished with a .361 average, seven doubles and 10 home runs for the Bears.