 |
|
|||||||||
 |
May 22, 2002
Charleston, S.C. - After leading Western Carolina to a 32-21 record and second-place finish in the league, Catamount head coach Todd Raleigh was voted 2002 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by his peers, it was announced today. WCU also placed five players on the All-SoCon team, as voted by the league's coaches.
The 2002 SoCon honors were released while Western Carolina was in the midst of handing Wofford a 9-2 defeat in the first round of the 2002 Southern Conference Championship. The Catamounts, seeded second, will face the College of Charleston, seeded third, on Thursday at 4 pm.
Raleigh has directed an amazing turnaround for the WCU baseball program. After going 15-38 and not qualifying for the SoCon Championship in his first season, the 1991 WCU graduate led the Catamounts to the biggest single-season improvement (+14.5 games) in league history. This year, WCU won two more games than last season and, for the second straight season, led the SoCon in batting, while ranking fifth in the nation in the category. Western also showed marked improvement in pitching this season, shaving its ERA from 6.06 in 2001 to 4.71 this season.
Western improved by two games in the league over last season, posting a 20-10 SoCon mark. Over the past two seasons, WCU has won 80 percent of its league series.
Last year, WCU only had two players on the league's All-Conference team. This year, Donovan Minero, Ryan Schade and Todd Buchanan were voted to the first team, while Alan Beck and Chris Davis were second team selections.
Minero, a three-time SoCon Player of the Week, finished the regular season as the league's home run champion for the second consecutive season. He additionally finished second in RBIs, second in total bases, third in slugging percentage, third in doubles, fourth in hits and seventh in batting average. In SoCon action only, Minero led the league in home runs, RBIs, hits, total bases and slugging percentage, while ranking second in doubles and third in batting. The senior from San Jose, Calif. was also a first team pick last season, becoming the first Catamount to earn first team honors in back-to-back years since Chris Moore accomplished the feat in the 1998 and '99 seasons. Minero was also voted team co-MVP by his teammates this year.
Schade had a career year, splitting time between shortstop and third base this season. He batted .377 and ranked among the SoCon top 10 in seven offensive categories. In SoCon games, he ranked among the top five in five categories. The Lewisburg, Pa. native started the season by being named both National and SoCon Player of the Week. His seven RBIs in the first game at Appalachian State was the most by a SoCon player this season, as were his 10 assists versus Wright State in the 2002 season opener. Schade, voted his team's Co-MVP along with Minero, was named first team Verizon Academic All-District III and was also named the top student in the WCU sport management department, receiving the Jim Hamilton "Major of the Year" award.
Buchanan (Roswell, Ga.) is known for his outstanding defense. He was a preseason pick by Baseball America to earn all-conference honors and was named the league's best defensive third baseman by the magazine. The junior added a potent bat as the Catamounts' cleanup hitter, ranking among the league leaders in RBIs, home runs and walks this season to earn first team honors. He hit three grand slams this season, including one versus Clemson in a game in which he had a season-high six RBIs.
Beck, a first team honoree last season, ranked among the SoCon's top 10 in nine offensive categories. After today's win versus Wofford, the junior from Hudson, NC. is now batting .383 this season and had entered the school's career top 10 in doubles and RBIs.
Davis (Goldsboro, N.C.) may have been the find of the century by Raleigh. WCU was the only Division I school to offer a scholarship to Davis. The freshman wound up being the Cats' designated hitter over the last two-thirds of the season and batted an amazing .393 with 17 walks.
|
|
 |
