ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University's Charles Hall has been named the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year announced league officials Tuesday.
Hall and four of his TU teammates also garnered All-Conference recognition. Hall and second baseman Daulton Martin were named to the All-SAC first team, Nate Montgomery was the second team catcher, while third baseman Bryson Ford and outfielder Jarel McDade received honorable mention status.
Hall, a senior from Dumfries, Virginia, becomes sixth student-athlete in program history to be tabbed SAC Pitcher of Year joining former TU hurlers Brent Gabel (2005), Kevin Hammons (2007), C.J. Hillyer (2009), Craig Goodman (2012) and Placido Torres (2016).
Hall continues to lead the nation with is 137 strikeouts, which are the second-most in school history. Hall also leads the SAC with his 15.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, which is the fourth-best average in NCAA Division II. Hall has struck out 10 or more batters in nine of his 12 starts this year including a string of eight consecutive starts from Feb. 8 – Mar. 29.
On Mar. 15, Hall established a new NCAA II single-game record with his 22 strikeouts in Tusculum's 10-1 win over Queens University of Charlotte. For his efforts, he was named the NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
The two-time All-SAC selection has a 6-2 record with a 1.98 earned run average which is second in the league and 26th in the nation. In his 81.2 innings on the mound, he has combined on two shutouts and pitched a complete game while limiting the opposition to a meager .195 batting average.
In his two seasons with the Pioneers, Hall has a 10-5 overall record with two saves and 208 strikeouts which are the fifth-most ever by a Tusculum baseball player. His 3.14 career ERA is the eighth-best in program history
Martin, a junior from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, returns to the All-SAC first team for a second consecutive year and has been an All-Conference selection three times. Martin is batting a team-best .375 this year, which is the seventh highest in the SAC. He continues to lead the country in both doubles and walks. His 22 doubles are tops in NCAA Division II and are tied for the second-most in school history. He has also drawn 51 bases on balls which second in the TU record book.
Martin also leads the team in runs scored (60 – 2nd in NCAA II), tied for hits (63 – 45th in NCAA II) and runs batted in (47 – 35th in NCAA II), home runs (8), total bases (111 – 31st in NCAA II), slugging percentage (.661), on-base percentage (.532 – 7th in NCAA II) and sacrifice flies (5 – 36th in NCAA II). In his 49 starts, he has accounted for 17 stolen bases and has been hit by a pitch on 11 occasions.
The 2018 consensus All-American has played in 151 games in his career where he has a career batting average of .389 which is eighth in school history. He is listed throughout the school record book and is mentioned several times in the top-10 in numerous categories. His 54 career doubles are tied for the most ever by a Pioneer. He has also amassed 149 runs (3rd in TU history), 11 triples (5th in TU history), 129 RBI (7th in TU history), 337 total bases (3rd in TU history), 104 walks (3rd in TU history) and 26 times hit by pitch (T4th in TU history).
Montgomery, a senior from Geneva, Illinois, returns to the All-SAC once again after garnering honorable mention last year. He is second on the team with his .346 batting average and is tied for the team-lead with 63 hits with Martin. Montgomery has 11 doubles and four home runs including a grand slam in Monday's 6-5 extra-inning win over Lenoir-Rhyne. He is tied for the team-lead by being hit by a pitch 13 times and his 363 put outs are most on the TU roster. He has scored 28 runs and driven in 44, third on the team.
Montgomery owns a .331 batting average in his 98 games in a Pioneer uniform where he has totaled 121 hits including 22 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 82 RBI. He has been hit by a pitch 26 times in his TU career which are tied for fourth in program history. His 657 career putouts at Tusculum are also seventh in the Pioneer record book.
Ford, a sophomore from Knoxville, Tennessee, is third on the Tusculum roster with his .339 batting average and leads the team with his 26 stolen bases which are second in the conference and 17th in the nation. He has gone 26-of-28 this season which are the third-most thefts in a TU single-season. Ford's 62 hits are third on the team which include eight doubles, two triples and three home runs with 45 RBI (9th in SAC). He has also accounted for 32 walks (6th in SAC/36th in NCAA II).
McDade, a senior from Magnolia, Texas, garners All-SAC honors for a second straight season. He is batting .277 but is tied for the team-lead with 47 RBI (3rd in SAC / 45th in NCAA II). McDade has posted 53 hits this year including 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs and is 18-of-21 in stolen bases.
Since transferring from Tyler Junior College, He is batting .301 at Tusculum with 111 hits, 17 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 92 RBI.
All five of Tusculum's All-SAC honorees also shine in the classroom where they are all members of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the TU Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
Tusculum (30-19, 17-7) finished in a tie for third place in the conference standings and will be the No. 4 seed in the Pilot / Flying J SAC Baseball Tournament in Kodak, Tennessee. TU will face No. 3 seed Catawba College on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. from Smokies Stadium.
2019 All-South Atlantic Conference Baseball Team
First Team
OF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
OF – Tyler Thompson, Carson-Newman
OF – Jed Bryant, Wingate
1B – Chris Salvey, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
DH – Nate Stinson, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Charles Hall, Tusculum
SP – Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Josh Bookbinder, Newberry
RP – Quinton Driggers, Newberry
Second Team
OF – Seth Hunt, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Will Reddick, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Clayton Jeffries, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B – Noah Jones, Queens
2B – Dalton Lansdowne, Newberry
SS – Colin Allman, Newberry
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Nate Montgomery, Tusculum
DH – Heath Mitchem, Catawba
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Greg Valentine, Carson-Newman
SP – Austin Turgeon, Wingate
RP – Hunter Dula, Wingate
Honorable Mention
OF – Jarel McDade, Tusculum
OF – Nick Butler, Newberry
OF – E.J. Ranel, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B – Larry McCabe, Coker
2B – John Sharpe, Carson-Newman
SS – Casey Demko, Coker
3B – Bryson Ford, Tusculum
C – Andrew Llewellyn, Wingate
DH – Matthew Freeman, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Charlie Fessler, Newberry
SP – Tomas Sorcia, Jr., Newberry
SP - Alex Shirazi, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP - Riley Myers, Catawba
RP – Christian Carpenter, Anderson
All-Defensive Team
RF – Lee Poteat, Catawba
CF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
LF – Will Reddick, Lincoln Memorial
1B – Chris Salvey, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Lake Lybrand, Coker
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
P – Quinton Driggers, Newberry
SAC Player of the Year: Danton Hyman, Newberry
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Charles Hall, Tusculum
SAC Freshman of the Year: Josh Bookbinder, Newberry
SAC Coach of the Year: Russell Triplett, Newberry