Three Commodores Named to 2004 All-SEC Baseball Team

Three Commodores Named to 2004 All-SEC Baseball Team

5/25/2004

Three Commodores Named to 2004 All-SEC Baseball Team

Warner Jones, Ryan Klosterman and Jeremy Sowers Earn Post-Season Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Three Commodores were honored today by being named to the 2004 All-Southeastern Conference Baseball Team.

Warner Jones (2B, Soph. Nashville, Tenn.) and Ryan Klosterman (SS, Jr., Clermont, Fla.) earned first team honors, while Jeremy Sowers (LHP, Jr., Louisville, Ky.) was selected to the second team for the second consecutive season.

Jones leads the SEC in batting average with a .425 mark and in hits with a Vanderbilt school record 96.  He also set a Vanderbilt and SEC record with a 32-game hitting streak that spanned over two seasons.  He also numbers an SEC leading 25 doubles, one shy of the VU school record, and .696 slugging percentage.  He has started every game at second base and owns a .977 fielding percentage with 89 putouts and 125 assists with only five errors.  He has reached base in 52 games and has hit safely in 47 games.  He leads the team with 64 RBI, second in the SEC.  He has recorded 27 multi-hit games and 16 multi-RBI games.  He earned SEC Player of the Week and the National Hitter of the Week March 29 after hitting .737 in four games going 14-19 at the plate with six doubles, one triple and one home run.

Klosterman has played in all but one game this season and reached base in all but three of those games.  The Commodore’s lead-off hitter has scored at least one run in 42 games.  He has set the VU school record with seven triples this season which leads the SEC.  He owns a .350 batting average and is second on the team with 78 hits.  He is second on the team in total bases with 121 and has 30 RBI.  He leads the team in runs scored with 61, third in the SEC.  Prior to the final game of the regular season, Klosterman was named the team’s MVP as voted on by teammates and coaches (Jeff Peeples Most Valuable Player Award).

Sowers is a repeat selection to the second team, earning the same honor last season.  His eight wins are a career high and rank sixth on the VU single season win list.  He has appeared in 16 games starting in 14.  He has pitched 102.1 innings and numbers 97 strikeouts, third in the SEC.  He has allowed just 19 extra-base hits in 76.1 innings vs. SEC opponents.  He owns a 2.99 ERA and has recorded double-digit strikeouts three times this season and at least eight strikeouts six times.  He is tied for fifth in the SEC with four runners picked off.  Sowers is only one of two Commodore pitchers to record at least 300 career strikeouts and now totals 305.  Sowers is a two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week this season.

This is the first time in 11 years that three Commodores were named to the All-SEC teams.  Vee Hightower and Boomer Whipple earned first team honors, while Greg Thomas was named to the second team in 1993. 

The Commodores take on Georgia Wednesday (May 26) at 1 pm at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.

2004 SEC Baseball Awards
SEC Co-Players of the Year:  Jon Zeringue, LSU; Stephen Head, Ole Miss
SEC Pitcher of the Year:  Justin Hoyman, Florida
SEC Freshman of the Year: Wade LeBlanc, Alabama
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year — Brady Toops, Arkansas
SEC Co-Coaches of the Year — Dave Van Horn, Arkansas; David Perno, Georgia

FIRST TEAM                           B-T      HT       WT      CLASS HOMETOWN
1B – C.J. Smith, Florida R-R      6-4       220       Jr.        Tampa, Fla.
2B- Warner Jones, Vanderbilt     R-R      5-10     160       So.       Nashville, Tenn.
3B – Josh Smith, Georgia            L-R      6-0       177       Jr.        Athens, Ga.
SS – Ryan Klosterman, Vanderbilt           R-R      5-11     175       Jr.        Clermont, Fla.
C- Landon Powell, South Carolina          S-R      6-4       231       Sr.        New Hill, N.C.
OF – J.C. Holt, LSU      L-R      5-10     170       Jr.        Sieper, La.
OF – Jon Zeringue, LSU R-R      6-2       205       Jr.        Thibodaux, La.
OF – Brad Corley, Mississippi State         R-R      6-1       198       So.       Louisville, Ky.
DH – Stephen Head, Ole Miss     L-L      6-2       220       So.       Raymond, Miss.
P – Justin Hoyman, Florida         R-R      6-2       200       Jr.        Cocoa, Fla.
P – Mark Holliman, Ole Miss      R-R      6-1       187       So.       Germantown, Tenn.
RP – Chad Blackwell, South Carolina      R-R      6-1       162       Jr.        Clewiston, Fla.
RP – Will Startup, Georgia          L-L      6-1       185       So.       Cartersville, Ga.

SECOND TEAM                      B-T      HT       WT      CLASS             HOMETOWN
1B – Josh Morris, Georgia          R-R      6-5       228       Fr.        Cartersville, Ga.
2B – Marshall Szabo, Georgia     S-R      5-10     180       Jr.        Alpharetta, Ga.
3B – Clay Harris, LSU   R-R      6-4       225       Jr.        Slidell, La.
SS – Justin Holmes, Georgia       R-R      5-10     175       Sr.        Oviedo, Fla.
SS – Scott Hode, Arkansas         R-R      6-0       180       Jr.        Crystal Lake, Ill.
C – Craig Tatum, Mississippi State          R-R      6-0       221       So.       Hattiesburg, Miss.
OF – Ryan Patterson, LSU         R-R      5-11     200       Jr.        Rowlett, Texas
OF – Brenden Winn, South Carolina        R-R      6-0       205       Jr.        Indian Harbour, Fla.
OF – Ben Harrison, Florida         R-R      6-3       220       Sr.        Key West, Fla.
OF – Seth Smith, Ole Miss          L-L      6-3       215       Jr.        Brandon, Miss.
DH – Alex Suarez, Tennessee     R-R      6-0       190       Jr.        Miami, Fla.      
P – Wade LeBlanc, Alabama       L-L      6-3       180       Fr.        Lake Charles, La.
P – Jeremy Sowers, Vanderbilt    L-L      6-1       175       Jr.        Louisville, Ky.
RP – Steven Register, Auburn     R-R      6-1       175       Jr.        Columbus, Ga.

ALL FRESHMAN TEAM                      B-T      HT       WT      CLASS HOMETOWN
1B – Josh Morris, Georgia          R-R      6-5       228       Fr.        Cartersville, Ga.
2B- Adam Davis, Florida            S-R      5-9       180       Fr.        Fort Myers, Fla.
3B – Chris Coghlan, Ole Miss     L-R      6-1       197       Fr.        Palm Harbor, Fla.
SS – David Cash, South Carolina R-R      6-2       185       Fr.        Odessa, Fla.
C – Brian Jeroloman, Florida       L-R      5-11     180       Fr.        Wellington, Fla.
OF – Joey Side, Georgia R-R      6-1       180       Fr.        Loganville, Ga.
OF – Alex Presley, Ole Miss       L-R      5-11     180       Fr.        Monroe, La.
OF – Jake Dugger, Arkansas       L-L      5-10     190       Fr.        Omaha, Neb.
DH – Danny Hamblin, Arkansas  R-R      6-1       200       Fr.        Rowlett, Texas
P – Wade LeBlanc, Alabama       L-L      6-3       180       Fr.        Lake Charles, La.
P – Clay Dirks, LSU      L-L      6-4       230       Fr.        Hernando, Miss.
RP – Alex Hempy, South Carolina           L-L      6-3       215       Fr.        Raleigh, N.C.