May 19, 2008

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina senior catcher Blake Murphy and sophomore second baseman Nick Liles were both named to the 2008 Southern Conference All-Conference team as selected by the league's head coaches and announced today by the league office. Murphy garnered first team accolades, while Liles was named to the honorary second team.

Western Carolina (28-26, 14-13 SoCon) begins its quest for its SoCon-leading 21st conference championship on Tuesday at Noon against the tenth-seeded Davidson Wildcats at Joseph P. Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. WCU swept the Wildcats earlier this season in Cullowhee, and has won seven-straight over Davidson over the past three seasons.

Tuesday's game - as well as every game Western Carolina plays in the conference tournament - will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard locally on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee or online at www.WWCUFM.com.

A native of Waynesville, N.C., Murphy was recognized for the third-time in his career after garnering second team honors as a sophomore and first team plaudits the past two seasons. The Catamount battery mate blasted a team-high 16 home runs with 18 doubles for a team-leading .740 slugging percentage, fifth in the SoCon. He hit .358 (62-of-173) during the regular season and posted a career-best 12 game hitting streak.

In addition, Murphy drew a team-high 51 walks to rank sixth on the WCU single-season chart and second in the league, adding to his .531 on-base percentage which was the tops in school history for a season and ranked second in the conference.

Behind the dish, Murphy caught 18 of the 26 would-be base stealers this season with 301 putouts and 39 assists and aided in three double plays.

Liles ended the regular season with 90 base hits for the 13th-best, single-season total in school history and enters the conference tournament tied for second in the SoCon. The Laurinburg, N.C., native hit .354 with his 254 at bats and 280 plate appearances leading the conference. He tied Murphy for the team lead with 18 doubles as the duo rank tied for ninth in the league.

He enjoyed a career-long, 17-game hitting streak at mid-season en route to posting team-best 29 multiple-hit games including four, four-hit outings. Liles opened the season at third base before making the transition to second to help sure-up the WCU middle infield. He helped turn 15 double plays with 137 assists.

The SoCon Sports Media Association all-conference team is scheduled to be released on Tuesday morning prior to WCU's opening round game.

Coaches All-SoCon Team
First Team
Catcher - Blake Murphy (WCU)
First Base - Michael Harrington (COFC)
Second Base - Brandon Sizemore (COFC)
Shortstop - Jason Altenhof (ASU)
Third Base - Jeremie Tice (COFC)
Outfield - Chris Shehan (GSU)
Outfield - Cory Harrilchak (Elon)
Outfield - Chris Swauger (CIT)
Designated Hitter - Ty Wright (GSU)
Pitcher - Jay Jackson (FUR)
Pitcher -Steven Hensley (Elon)
Relief Pitcher - Tom Girdwood (Elon)

Second Team
Catcher - Griffin Benedict (GSU)
First Base - Ricky Orton (UNCG)
Second Base - Nick Liles (WCU)
Shortstop - Michael Gilmartin (WOF)
Third Base - AJ Wirnsberger (GSU)
Outfield - Sonny Meade (CIT)
Outfield - David Rubenstein (ASU)
Outfield - David Richardson (GSU) tie
            Gabe Marchant (COFC)
Designated Hitter - Reese Wade (FUR)
Pitcher - Greg Martin (UNCG)
Pitcher - Matt Andress (ASU)
Relief Pitcher - Nick Karow (FUR)

 

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