Addington, Jones and Langhorne earn All-SAC laurels
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman placed three student-athletes on postseason squads announced by the South Atlantic Conference Wednesday morning as Ryan Addington and Greg Jones were placed on the second team and Brett Langhorne was an honorable mention pick.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman placed three student-athletes on postseason squads announced by the South Atlantic Conference Wednesday morning as Ryan Addington and Greg Jones were placed on the second team and Brett Langhorne was an honorable mention pick.
With the three selections the Eagles become the second team in the history of the league to place 100 or more athletes on all-conference clubs bringing C-N's mark to 101.
Addington was an honorable mention pick in 2016 and picks up his second postseason plaudit. The outfielder is third in the SAC in doubles with 17, hits with 73, runs scored with 53 and total bases with 118. His 16 stolen bases are good for fourth and with a .388 batting average he is sixth.
On Valentine's Day he was tabbed the SAC and TSWA Player of the Week notching a .778 batting average going 14-for-18 at the plate with a pair of home runs, 13 RBIs, 11 runs scored and two stolen bases in four wins for Carson-Newman during the week of Feb. 6-12. In an 18-3 win over Virginia-Wise, the Cincinnati, Ohio native went 5-for-6 with grand slams in the 3rd and 4th inning tallying 14 total bases and four runs scored while breaking the SAC record with 10 RBIs. That tally ranks as the ninth-most in a single game in Division II history and most since Michael Moras had 12 for New Haven against Assumption on April 23, 2007. The outfielder passed the league record of nine RBIs set three times most recently by Derek Treece for Lincoln Memorial on March 21, 2008 versus Kennesaw State.
The senior became the 15th player in the history of Division II and first in South Atlantic Conference history to hit two grand slams in one day. The last person to do so was Pat Trettel of Seton against Pitt-Johnstown on March 20, 2010.
The 10-RBI day is the most runs batted in at the Division II ranks since March 15, 2014 when Tim Hughes of West Liberty tallied 11 against West Virginia State.
Jones becomes the seventh catcher to earn a spot on an all-conference team for the Eagles and first since Wes Ward was a second-team pick in 2003. The senior ranks fourth in the league with 11 home runs, fourth in RBIs and 26th nationally with 51 RBIs and seventh in the conference in slugging percentage at .630.
"I believe it is how I put in the work in the preseason," Jones said. "I kept my eye on a goal that I wanted to attain. It's a great honor. It just shows that with a little bit of hard work you can achieve whatever you want to when you put your mind to it."
The Maryville, Tenn. native has 12 multi-hit games in 2017 and leads the team with 15 multi-RBI efforts. As a backstop, Jones threw out 50 percent of would-be base stealers and led the team with five pick-offs.
"I think one of the turning points was the injury [in 2016]," Jones said. "Not being able to play it put my whole baseball career and my life into perspective. I had been taking things for granted. I didn't have that drive that I have now to want to be the best I can be. From that point on it has put a fire in me to continue to improve and continue to get better."
Langhorne has posted a .350 batting average since March began with six home runs and 28 RBIs. His 16 stolen bases are tied with Addington for fourth in the conference. During a 10-game stretch from March 8 to March 25, the junior went 13-for-36 with a long ball, 10 RBIs, three doubles, seven runs and four stolen bases. The Mechanicsville, Va. native notched a .357 batting average against SAC competition this season clubbing three long balls and driving in 20 runs. He tallied 11 multi-hit efforts and eight games with multiple runs batted in.
The trio and the rest of Carson-Newman will play in the SAC Baseball Championships Thursday night at 7 p.m. from Smokies Stadium against sixth-seeded Coker. Audio and video streams are available free of charge on cneagles.com/live starting 15 minutes before the first pitch.
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