June 18, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –The American Baseball Coaches Association and Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin, NCAA Division I chairman, have announced the 2008 ABCA/Rawlings South Region awards.
“This group of players from the South region are as good as you will find in the nation and all of them deserve the recognition,” said Corbin.
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville and South Carolina each had three players on the All-South Region first and second teams.
The team included three conference players of the year: Gordon Beckham (Georgia, SEC), Clay Whittemore (Jacksonville State/Ohio Valley) and Chris Dominguez (Louisville, Big East), as well as two conference pitchers of the year in Joshua Fields (Georgia, SEC) and Christian Friedrich (Eastern Kentucky/Ohio Valley).
Eight Southeastern Conference schools were represented with 19 of the 29 players on the All-South Region teams from the league. The Big East and Conference USA had three players from their conferences, while the Atlantic Sun and Ohio Valley had two.
Eight of the All-South region players went on to receive ABCA All-American honors. Kentucky outfielder Sawyer Carroll joined Beckham as a first-team All-American, while fellow Wildcat outfielder Collin Cowgill joined Fields and Dominguez on the second team. Louisville pitcher Justin Marks and Alabama designated hitter Alex Avila were named third-team All-Americans.
2008 ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region Teams
First Team:
Catcher: Caleb Joseph, Lipscomb
First Base: Justin Smoak, South Carolina
Second Base: Ryan Wilkes, Kentucky
Second Base: Justin McClanahan, Louisville
Shortstop: Gordon Beckham, Georgia
Third Base: Chris Dominguez, Louisville
Outfield: Sawyer Carroll, Kentucky
Outfield: Collin Cowgill, Kentucky
Outfield: Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State
Designated Hitter: Alex Avila, Alabama
Pitcher: Christian Friedrich, Eastern Kentucky
Pitcher: Justin Marks, Louisville
Pitcher: Patrick Keating, Florida
Reliever: Joshua Fields, Georgia
Second Team:
Catcher: Bryce Massanari, Georgia
First Base: Ryan Keedy, UAB
Second Base: Josh Adams, Florida
Shortstop: Reese Havens, South Carolina
Third Base: Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt
Outfield: Blake Dean, LSU
Outfield: David Macias, Vanderbilt
Outfield: Justin Bass, Stetson
Outfield: Brandon May, Alabama
Designated Hitter: Phil Disher, South Carolina
Pitcher: Lance Lynn, Ole Miss
Pitcher: Barry Bowden, Southern Miss
Pitcher: Ryan Verdugo, LSU
Reliever: Scott Bittle, Ole Miss
Reliever: Tyler Conn, Southern Miss