Freshman left fielder Forrest Brandt
Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Brandt Named to the All-SoCon Freshman Team
5/23/2011 3:21:04 PM | Baseball
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Freshman left fielder Forrest Brandt was named to the All-Freshman team, as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches and released today by the league office along with the All-SoCon team and conference Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year awards.
Brandt, the freshman from Raleigh, N.C., started all 48 games for the Wildcats in left field in 2011. He finished the year with a .300 (57-for-190) batting average, to go along with 15 doubles, a triple, a home run, eight stolen bases and 21 RBI. Brandt batted 3-for-3 with a season-best five RBI against Lafayette on Feb. 26 and put together a team season-high 12-game hitting streak from March 27-April 16.
The rookie started off his first season on a tear, batting over .400 for the first 23 games and remaining among league leaders in major offensive categories all season. Brandt tied junior Drew Gadaire for a team-leading 19 multi-hit games, including four with three hits, to go along with four multi-RBI games. He joins Gadaire and Andrew Barna as Wildcats who have earned a spot on the All-Freshman team since its inception in 2009.
In addition to the All-Freshman team, which was headlined by SoCon Freshman of the Year Daniel Aldrich, the league's head coaches also selected two All-SoCon teams and awarded Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year honors.
Georgia Southern right fielder Victor Roache was named SoCon Player of the Year, after shattering the conference's single-season home run record with 29 to go along with 78 RBI, 55 runs scored and a league-leading .813 slugging percentage.
Georgia Southern junior right-handed reliever Matt Murray earned SoCon Pitcher of the Year honors, working out of the bullpen and leading the league in both ERA (1.99) and opponents' batting average (.188). He finished the season with a 4-2 record with eight saves and 63 strikeouts.
Aldrich, an outfielder from the College of Charleston, batted .372 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI to earn the league's Rookie of the Year award. He led all Division I freshmen in home runs and RBIs as well as slugging percentage (.794) and total bases (162).
UNCG's Mike Gaski was voted as the league's Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a 22-8 SoCon record and second-place finish after being predicted to finish no higher than ninth in the preseason polls. It is the second time he has been voted coach of the year and the first since 1998. The Spartans' 22 wins in league play tied the 1998 team for the most in school history, and UNCG closed the regular season as winners of eight straight and 15 of the last 16 to earn the second seed in this weekend's league championship.
College of Charleston, Georgia Southern and Samford led the way with five all-conference selections apiece. Western Carolina earned three all-league nods followed by two each from Elon and UNCG, the top two teams in the final conference standings. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or themselves in the voting process.
2011 SoCon Baseball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Victor Roache, So., OF, Georgia Southern
Pitcher of the Year – Matt Murray, Jr., RHP, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year – Daniel Aldrich, OF, College of Charleston
Coach of the Year – Mike Gaski, UNCG
First Team
SP Josh Renfro, College of Charleston
SP Andy Moye, Georgia Southern
SP Warren Slack, UNCG
RP Matt Murray, Georgia Southern
C Trevor Edwards, UNCG
1B Saxon Butler, Samford
2B Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
SS Eric Phillips, Georgia Southern
3B Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
OF Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
OF Nick Orvin, The Citadel
OF Victor Roache, Georgia Southern
DH Stephen Notaro, Western Carolina
Second Team
SP Christian Powell, College of Charleston
SP Kyle Putkonen, Samford
RP Andrew Jones, Samford
C Rob Kral, College of Charleston
1B Aaron Thompkins, Furman
2B Sebastian Gomez, Elon
SS Neal Pritchard, Elon
3B Austin Schultz, Western Carolina
OF Shawn Payne, Georgia Southern
OF Phillip Ervin, Samford
OF Brandon Miller, Samford
DH Mac Doyle, Wofford
All-Freshman Team
Preston Troutman, Appalachian State
Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
Drew DeKerlegand, The Citadel
Joe Jackson, The Citadel
Forrest Brandt, Davidson
Sebastian Gomez, Elon
David Whitehead, Elon
Brandon Browne, UNCG
Phillip Ervin, Samford
C.K. Irby, Samford
Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina
Adam Martin, Western Carolina
Brandt, the freshman from Raleigh, N.C., started all 48 games for the Wildcats in left field in 2011. He finished the year with a .300 (57-for-190) batting average, to go along with 15 doubles, a triple, a home run, eight stolen bases and 21 RBI. Brandt batted 3-for-3 with a season-best five RBI against Lafayette on Feb. 26 and put together a team season-high 12-game hitting streak from March 27-April 16.
The rookie started off his first season on a tear, batting over .400 for the first 23 games and remaining among league leaders in major offensive categories all season. Brandt tied junior Drew Gadaire for a team-leading 19 multi-hit games, including four with three hits, to go along with four multi-RBI games. He joins Gadaire and Andrew Barna as Wildcats who have earned a spot on the All-Freshman team since its inception in 2009.
In addition to the All-Freshman team, which was headlined by SoCon Freshman of the Year Daniel Aldrich, the league's head coaches also selected two All-SoCon teams and awarded Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year honors.
Georgia Southern right fielder Victor Roache was named SoCon Player of the Year, after shattering the conference's single-season home run record with 29 to go along with 78 RBI, 55 runs scored and a league-leading .813 slugging percentage.
Georgia Southern junior right-handed reliever Matt Murray earned SoCon Pitcher of the Year honors, working out of the bullpen and leading the league in both ERA (1.99) and opponents' batting average (.188). He finished the season with a 4-2 record with eight saves and 63 strikeouts.
Aldrich, an outfielder from the College of Charleston, batted .372 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI to earn the league's Rookie of the Year award. He led all Division I freshmen in home runs and RBIs as well as slugging percentage (.794) and total bases (162).
UNCG's Mike Gaski was voted as the league's Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a 22-8 SoCon record and second-place finish after being predicted to finish no higher than ninth in the preseason polls. It is the second time he has been voted coach of the year and the first since 1998. The Spartans' 22 wins in league play tied the 1998 team for the most in school history, and UNCG closed the regular season as winners of eight straight and 15 of the last 16 to earn the second seed in this weekend's league championship.
College of Charleston, Georgia Southern and Samford led the way with five all-conference selections apiece. Western Carolina earned three all-league nods followed by two each from Elon and UNCG, the top two teams in the final conference standings. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or themselves in the voting process.
2011 SoCon Baseball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Victor Roache, So., OF, Georgia Southern
Pitcher of the Year – Matt Murray, Jr., RHP, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year – Daniel Aldrich, OF, College of Charleston
Coach of the Year – Mike Gaski, UNCG
First Team
SP Josh Renfro, College of Charleston
SP Andy Moye, Georgia Southern
SP Warren Slack, UNCG
RP Matt Murray, Georgia Southern
C Trevor Edwards, UNCG
1B Saxon Butler, Samford
2B Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
SS Eric Phillips, Georgia Southern
3B Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
OF Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
OF Nick Orvin, The Citadel
OF Victor Roache, Georgia Southern
DH Stephen Notaro, Western Carolina
Second Team
SP Christian Powell, College of Charleston
SP Kyle Putkonen, Samford
RP Andrew Jones, Samford
C Rob Kral, College of Charleston
1B Aaron Thompkins, Furman
2B Sebastian Gomez, Elon
SS Neal Pritchard, Elon
3B Austin Schultz, Western Carolina
OF Shawn Payne, Georgia Southern
OF Phillip Ervin, Samford
OF Brandon Miller, Samford
DH Mac Doyle, Wofford
All-Freshman Team
Preston Troutman, Appalachian State
Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
Drew DeKerlegand, The Citadel
Joe Jackson, The Citadel
Forrest Brandt, Davidson
Sebastian Gomez, Elon
David Whitehead, Elon
Brandon Browne, UNCG
Phillip Ervin, Samford
C.K. Irby, Samford
Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina
Adam Martin, Western Carolina
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