Clarksville, Ark.-Seven University of the Ozarks baseball players were named to the American Southwest Conference All-East Division Team, the ASC office announced this week.
Senior utility player Bruce Cameron highlighted the group with an All-East Division First Team selection. Senior first baseman/right-handed pitcher Todd Koch, junior shortstop Cory Briggs, senior outfielder David Smith and junior designated hitter Andrew Teaster made the ASC All-East Division Second Team. Cameron, junior catcher Jeremy Hogan and senior left-handed pitcher John Scheuring earned ASC All-East Division Honorable Mention Team honors.
Cameron, the 2009 ASC co-East Division Preseason Player of the Year, played third base, outfield and pitched for the Eagles. He made the Honorable Mention Team as a third baseman. He ranked sixth in the ASC in stolen bases (17), while hitting .319 with a team-best 43 runs. The Houston, Texas, product collected 44 hits, homered five times and drove in 25. Against Williams Baptist, he went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI. He recorded 4 RBI against Hendrix College March 26. The right-hander went 3-3 on the mound with a 5.55 ERA in 58.1 innings of work. He fanned 41 and tossed three complete games. Cameron’s best outing came against No. 4 UT-Tyler when he tossed a three-hit complete game victory. He finishes his career ranked third at Ozarks in runs (129), triples (5), home runs (21) and total bases (258). He is fourth in RBI (108), slugging percentage (.580) and stolen bases (37). He earned ASC Pitcher of the Week honors following his performance against UT-Tyler. In 2008, he was named to the D3Baseball.com All-America Team. He was a three-time All-Conference performer.
Koch, a native of San Antonio, Texas, finished second on the team in RBI (36), home runs (7) and on-base percentage (.424). He hit .289 in 41 starts, and posted 11 two-hit games. Against Hendrix College March 26, Koch went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI. Koch, a right-hander, led Ozarks on the mound with 71.1 innings pitched. Koch tied the single-season school record with 74 strikeouts, good enough for eighth in the ASC this season. Koch finished 3-5 with a 5.30 ERA and went the distance three times. Koch, who fanned 10 on a pair of occasions, threw a complete game and did not issue a walk to receive the win against Austin College April 18. Koch made his mark on Ozarks’ record book at the plate and on the mound. He ends his career with a record number of walks (73), and ranks second in RBI (124) and on-base percentage (.470). He is fourth in batting (.366), hits (166), doubles (28), home runs (19) and total bases (255). He is fifth in slugging percentage (.563). As a pitcher, he has the second-most wins (12) and strikeouts (200). He also is second in innings pitched (223.2). He is a three-time All-Conference performer.
Briggs, a native of Greencastle, Pa., hit .280 with 21 runs and 17 RBI in an injury-shortened year. Briggs, who shared the 2009 ASC co-East Division Preseason Player of the Year award with Cameron, collected 30 hits in 30 games. Briggs had nine two-hit games, including a 2-for-4, 3 RBI performance against Williams Baptist. Briggs had another 3-RBI game against Hendrix College February 6. Briggs set the single-season school record in batting (.467) and was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Second Team in 2008. He is a three-time All-Conference player.
Smith, a product of Rowlett, Texas, was a mainstay in right field for the Eagles the past four seasons. Smith led the team in doubles (14) and ranked second in homers (7), runs (42), hits (48), slugging percentage (.569), total bases (87) and steals (10). Smith hit .314 with 27 RBI, and had 23 walks and six sacrifice hits. Smith posted five three-hit games and drove in four runs against East Texas Baptist March 7. He had a team-best 14 multiple-hit games. Smith now owns a number of school career records including runs (138), doubles (42) and sacrifice hits (32). He is second at Ozarks in games played (157), hits (178) and steals (43). His career at-bats (526) place him third, and his triples (4), total bases (255) and walks (65) rank him fourth. A four-year defensive standout, Smith owned a career .975 fielding percentage. In 2008, he won a gold glove award from the American Baseball Coaches Association. He is a two-time All-Conference player.
Teaster, a left-hander hitter from Hollister, Mo., hit .289 with 35 hits and 19 RBI. Teaster, who earned ASC Hitter of the Week honors in March, had four three-hit games, including a 2-RBI game against LeTourneau in which he came up a single short of a cycle. He drove in three runs against both Hendrix College March 26 and UT-Tyler March 20. Teaster was an All-Conference performer his freshman year.
Hogan, a native of Carthage, Texas, had a breakout season for the Eagles, leading the team in batting (.357), home runs (11), RBI (44), slugging percentage (.700), hits (50), on-base percentage (.443) and total bases (98). He was second with 13 doubles. Hogan’s most productive game of the season came against Williams Baptist February 13 when he went 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBI. Hogan, who was named ASC Hitter of the Week in February, drove in four runs on three occasions. He homered twice against Louisiana College April 4. He had 13 multiple-hit games and 10 multiple-RBI games. Hogan had a team-best 11-game hit streak during the season.
Scheuring, a native of Bryan, Texas, was again among the top relievers in the ASC. Scheuring made a team-high 19 appearances and struck out 47 in 30.1 innings of work. He went 4-3 and collected two saves. Scheuring fanned six in 2.1 innings of work against McMurry University February 21. Scheuring, who did not give up a run in four straight games in March, tossed four innings against Louisiana College April 4 to pick up his fourth win of the season. Scheuring finishes his career as one of the most productive pitchers in school history. He finishes first at Ozarks in strikeouts per nine-innings (11.88). He ranks second in saves (10) and appearances (59). He is third in career strikeouts (121). He owns the single-season school record in saves (5) and is a three-time All-Conference player.
The Eagles (17-25, 9-9 ASC) made the playoffs for the third straight season in 2009.
Topics: Athletics