Clarksville, Ark.-Cory Briggs headlines a group of four University of the Ozarks baseball players to be named to the 2008 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings NCAA III All-West Region Team.
Briggs becomes the first player at Ozarks to be named to the All-West First Team. Bruce Cameron and Robby Finnell made the All-West Second Team while Curt Dixon was voted to the All-West Third Team. Briggs, along with seven other national All-Region First Team members, will have their nominations forwarded to the national ballot for All-America consideration.
Briggs, a 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore shortstop, was among the top offensive players in the American Southwest Conference during the 2008 season. The Greencastle, Pa., product won the league batting title with a .467 average. Briggs finished the year ranked in the top ten in the ASC in eight different offensive categories. He was second in hits (79), third in doubles (19) and on-base percentage (.513), fifth in runs (56), sixth in RBI (54) and total bases (124), and seventh in slugging percentage (.734). His batting average, hit, total bases and doubles totals are new single-season school records. Briggs top performance at the plate this season came against Mississippi College April 13 when he went 5-for-6 with a homer and 6 RBI. He was named ASC All-East Division First Team this season.
Finnell, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound designated hitter, finishes his four-year career as the school career leader in a number of offensive categories. The Tulsa, Okla., native is the career leader in home runs (31), RBI (159), games played (162), runs (131), hits (189), doubles (31), triples (8), total bases (329), walks (73) and hit by pitch (42). He owns a .348 career batting average, tenth-best at Ozarks and a .606 career slugging percentage, fourth-best at Ozarks. His 2008 stats included ranking fourth in the ASC in RBI (56) and slugging percentage (.784), fifth in home runs (13), ninth in on-base percentage (.486) and tenth in total bases (109). He led the team in RBI (56) for the second straight season, breaking his own school record single-season RBI total. Finnell went 4-for-5 with a homer, three doubles and 7 RBI in game three of a series against East Texas Baptist. He was a three-time All-Conference player. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Cameron, a 6-foot, 175-pound center fielder/right-handed pitcher, made the All-Region Team as a utility player. The Houston, Texas, product hit .410, ninth in the ASC, and posted a 3.35 ERA, sixth-best in the league, in 2008. Within the ASC, he was second in slugging percentage (.827), third in home runs (14), fifth in on-base percentage (.500), eighth in total bases (115) and tenth in RBI (49). He was 3-for-4 with three homers and 4 RBI against Lyon College. On the mound, he finished with a 5-1 record in 48.1 innings of work. He ended the season with 29 strikeouts. Against LeTourneau, he pitched a five-hit complete game. He earned All-Conference honors at three different positions this year.
Dixon, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-handed pitcher, finished with a school-record 9-1 record in 2008. The McAlester, Okla., native recently began his professional career with the Sioux City Explorers, and now will pitch for the Southern Illinois Miners following a trade on Sunday night. In 2008, he ranked fourth in the ASC in ERA (2.92), wins (9) and complete games (5). He had a team-best 74 strikeouts and tossed a team-high 71.0 innings. Dixon garnered national attention this season when he was named along with a pair of NCAA I players the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week after fanning 14 against East Texas Baptist. He tossed a two-hit shutout against Texas-Dallas. He owns career records at Ozarks in strikeouts (205), innings pitched (256.2), wins (24) and games started (46). He was Honorable Mention All-Conference this season.
FIRST TEAM
DH - Scott Marcus, University of La Verne, SR, San Dimas, CA
C - Matt Hendryx, Pacific University, SR, Seaside, OR
1B - Kyle Stalker, Willamette University, JR, Bellevue, WA
2B - Clay Baker, Univ. Texas-Tyler, SR, Henderson, TX
3B - Derek David, McMurry University, SR, Richmond, TX
SS - Cory Briggs, Univ. of the Ozarks, SO, Greencastle, PA
UT - Kurt Yacko, Chapman University, JR, Costa Mesa, CA
OF - Tom Williams, Concordia Univ. Texas, JR, Austin, TX
OF - Joseph Villegas, Mary Hardin-Baylor, SO, Manchaca, TX
OF - Mike Vass, Chapman University, SR, Orange, CA
OF - Alex Weber-Shapiro, Claremont McKenna, SO, Berkeley, CA
P - Blake Booher, Univ. Texas-Tyler, JR, Hurst, TX
P - Brett Holland, Univ. Texas-Tyler, JR, Lindale, TX
P - Brian Clark, Linfield College, SR, Bellevue, WA
P - Wayde Kitchens, Chapman University, JR, Oceanside, CA
UT - Kurt Yacko, Chapman University, JR, Costa Mesa, CA
SECOND TEAM
DH - Robby Finnell, Univ. of the Ozarks, SR, Tulsa, OK
C - Jeremy Harding, Univ. Texas-Tyler, JR, Houston, TX
1B - Drew Hedman, Pomona-Pitzer, JR, Redding, CA
1B - Evan Jones, Trinity University, SO, Hillsborough, CA
2B - Steven Yurchick, McMurry University, SR, Rosenberg, TX
2B - Travis Nishioka, Claremont McKenna, SO, Honolulu, HI
SS - Tom Fogerty, University of Dallas, JR, Parker, CO
3B - Joseph Towns, Univ. Texas-Tyler, JR, Carrollton, TX
UT - Bruce Cameron, Univ. of the Ozarks, JR, Houston, TX
OF - Daniel Ward, Hendrix College, JR, Tacoma, WA
OF - Nick Cmerck, Concordia Univ. Texas, JR, Austin, TX
OF - Sean Anderson, Willamette University, SR, Klamath Falls, OR
OF - Marcus Volz, Mary Hardin-Baylor, JR, Katy, TX
P - Mikael Ryder, Menlo College, SR, San Mateo, CA
P - Brian Oates, Trinity University, SR, Huntsville, TX
P - Nolan Nicholson, Univ. of Redlands, JR, Fullerton, CA
P - Evan Bronson, Trinity University, JR, Midlothian, VA
UT - Bruce Cameron, Univ. of the Ozarks, JR, Houston, TX
THIRD TEAM
DH - Michael Olsen, Univ. Puget Sound, SR, Niwot, CO
DH - Brent Voorhees, McMurry University, SR, Abilene, TX
C - Drew Van Cleave, Linfield College, SR, Pendleton, OR
1B - Anthony Cappelletti, Whittier College, JR, San Diego, CA
2B - Adam Froeschl, Mary Hardin-Baylor, SR, Buda, TX
2B - Richard Falcone, Southwestern Univ., SR, Houston, TX
SS - David Bachofner, Linfield College, SR, Tigard, OR
SS - Jack Mehl, University of La Verne, SR, Eugene, OR
3B - Robert McDonald, Menlo College, SR, Foster City, CA
UT - Stephen Derrick, McMurry University, JR, Cedar Park, TX
OF - Jared Hood, Univ. Texas-Tyler, JR, Marshall, TX
OF - Wayne Pimpton, Hardin-Simmons, SR, Southlake, TX
OF - David Roux, Louisiana College, JR, Denham Springs, LA
OF - Kyle Rizzo, Univ. of Redlands, JR, Redlands, CA
P - Jimmy Wilfong, University of La Verne, SR, Glendora, CA
P - Curt Dixon, Univ. of the Ozarks, SR, McAlester, OK
P - Kyle Barton, Hardin- Simmons, JR, Seymour, TX
P - Matt Vierra, CSU East Bay, SR, Livermore, CA
Topics: Athletics