Carson-Newman's Long Named First Team All-SAC

April 23, 2009

ROCK HILL, SC - Carson-Newman first baseman Derek Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.) has been named first team All-South Atlantic Conference, league officials announced Wednesday night.

Long batted .355 with 12 doubles and two home runs during his junior season. The hometown product led the Eagles in drawing 20 walks, while striking out only nine times. His 55 hits, 34 runs, 71 total bases, and .441 on-base percentage were all second on the team.

Long will be a strong candidate for a South Atlantic Conference Gold Glove, which will be announced in May. He committed only two errors on over 430 putouts, fielding at a .995 clip.

He was part of a three-way tie for first-team All-SAC honors at first base, joining Wingate's Aaron Knowles and Lenoir-Rhyne's Zach Glass.

C-N's Evan Patterson (Knoxville, Tenn./Karns) earned the SAC stolen bases title after averaging .62 stolen bases per game. For the year, the Eagles' left fielder and designated hitter batted .396 and stole 24 bases in 26 attempts to lead the league.

The Eagles finished the season 24-21.

Catawba College junior third baseman Craige Lyerly, Wingate University senior outfielder Mark Letchworth and Tusculum College senior pitcher C.J. Hillyer the South Atlantic Conference's top baseball awards.

The awards were presented Wednesday night on the campus of Wingate University in Wingate, N.C. The Food Lion SAC Baseball Tournament begins Thursday with three games at Wingate's Ron Christopher Stadium and Plyler Athletic Field.

Letchworth (Greenville, N.C./ J.H Rose High) and Lyerly (Salisbury, NC/E. Rowan HS) shared the Player of the Year award. Letchworth led the conference with a .780 slugging percentage, 18 home runs and 64 runs batted in. Lyerly led the league with 81 hits and was second in the conference with a .438 batting average.

Hillyer (Abington, Mass./Abington HS) was named Pitcher of the Year after going 7-1 on the mound with a 2.20 ERA and helping to lead the Pioneers to the conference crown.

Tusculum Coach Doug Jones, who guided the Pioneers to their third conference championship in the past four years, was named Coach of the Year. He wins the award for the second time in his career.

Wingate freshman outfielder Casey Allison (Horse Shoe, N.C./ West Henderson), who led the conference in at-bats and hit .341 and drove in 33 runs, was named Freshman of the Year. His 19 doubles tied for second-most in the league this season.

Tusculum second baseman Payden Houser was named the SAC Scholar-Athlete for baseball. Houser (Lincolnton, N.C./West Lincoln HS) is a sophomore majoring in pre-physical therapy and carries a 3.6 GPA. He is third on the team in batting average, hitting .353. He was named second-team All-Conference at second base.

Houser has been named to the Tusculum's Dean's List, the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. He has been active in community service projects, including Habitat for Humanity, helping to restore a graveyard, assisting residents at an assisted living facility and reading to schoolchildren.

Conference champion Tusculum, Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne led the way with six All-Conference selections each. Tusculum and Catawba led the way with four first-team selections each.

Mars Hill had three on the All-Conference team.

Newberry, Wingate and Lincoln Memorial each had two on the All-Conference team. Carson-Newman had one selection.

The South Atlantic Conference All-Conference teams are selected by the league's head coaches.

Regular season statistical champions and senior awards were also announced.

2009 All-SAC Baseball Teams
FIRST TEAM
Catcher - Ryan Query, Catawba
Relief Pitcher - Rob Currie, Tusculum
Pitcher - Blake Ketner, Catawba
Pitcher - Josh Strawn, Lincoln Memorial
Pitcher - C.J. Hillyer, Tusculum
1st base - Derek Long, Carson-Newman
1st base - Zach Glass, Lenoir-Rhyne
1st base - Aaron Knowles, Wingate
2nd base - Hank Wofford, Lenoir-Rhyne
Shortstop - Chris Ahearn, Catawba
3rd base - Craige Lyerly, Catawba
Outfield - Jared Richmond, Tusculum
Outfield - Nate Grabowski, Tusculum
Outfield - Mark Letchworth, Wingate
Designated hitter - Brian Williams, Mars Hill
SECOND TEAM
Catcher - Mike Dobre, Mars Hill
Relief pitcher - Thomas Berryhill, Newberry
Pitcher - Tim Holmes, Catawba
Pitcher - Josh McElwee, Newberry
Pitcher - Max Keleher, Tusculum
2nd base - Nick Langley, Lincoln Memorial
2nd base - Payden Houser, Tusculum
Shortstop - Devin Presnell, Mars Hill
3rd base - Michael Pleau, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield - Josh Hohn, Catawba
Outfield - Max Loveland, Lenoir-Rhyne
Outfield - Evan Taylor, Lenoir-Rhyne
Designated hitter - Rob Knight, Lenoir-Rhyne

Statistical Champions
Batting Avg. - Rob Knight, Lenoir-Rhyne, .459
On-Base Pct. - Rob Knight, Lenoir-Rhyne, .598
Triples Per Game - Jared Richmond, Tusculum .12
RBIs Per Game - Brian Williams, Mars Hill, 1.43
Slugging Pct. - Mark Letchworth, Wingate, .780
Homers Per Game - Mark Letchworth, Wingate, .37
Runs Scored Per Game - Craig Lyerly, Catawba, 1.28
Stolen Bases Per Game - Evan Patterson, Carson-Newman, .62
Earned Run Average - Josh Strawn, LMU, 2.05
Pitching Victories - Blake Ketner, Catawba, 8
Strikeouts Per Game - Josh McElwee, Newberry, 10.99
Team Batting Avg. - Lenoir-Rhyne, .339
Team Stolen Bases Per Game - Tusculum, 1.72
Team Triples Per Game - Tusculum, .34
Team Earned Run Average - Tusculum, 3.20
Team Strikeouts Per Game - Lenoir-Rhyne, 7.69
Team Slugging Pct. - Wingate, .526
Team On-Base Pct. - Lenoir-Rhyne, .414
Team Runs Per Game - LMU. 8.76
Team Doubles Per Game - Wingate, 2.57
Team Homers Per Game - Catawba, 1.37
Team RBIs Per Game - Wingate, 7.90