By WRBL Staff
CSU Sports Information
Aiken, SC - A total of six Columbus State players were named to the 2008 All-Peach Belt Conference Baseball Team on Wednesday night at the annual PBC awards banquet at the USC Aiken Convocation Center. CSU led all schools with its half-dozen representatives on the squad. USC Aiken placed four players on the team, followed by North Georgia and Francis Marion with two each and UNC Pembroke and Armstrong Atlantic State with one each.CSU Sports Information
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Stumble It!CSU also laid claim to two of the four major awards as head coach Greg Appleton was named Coach of the Year and senior lefty Noles was named Pitcher of the Year. USC Aiken's Chad Jacobsen was named Player of the Year, while Francis Marion's Preston Shuey was named Freshman of the Year.
Noles has had an outstanding season in 2008, sporting an 11-0 record with a 1.54 ERA, both league-bests. The senior from LaGrange, Ga., set a school single-season record with 11 straight wins and has won 16 straight dating back to last season. He also leads the league with 105 innings pitched and was second with 110 strikeouts, which is also third-best nationally. Noles is now the third Columbus State hurler to earn Pitcher of the Year honors, the first since Tony Pierce in 1999.
Appleton receives his first PBC Coach of the Year award in his 11th season at the helm of the Cougars. In 2008, Appleton guided his team to their first PBC Regular Season Championship since 1996 and the #1 seed for the PBC Tournament. The Cougars are currently ranked #8 in the nation in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll after finishing the regular season 39-15 and 19-8 in conference play. Appleton won the 2002 National Championship at CSU and returned to the national finals in 2007. His team also won the 2006 PBC Tournament and will likely return to the NCAA Regionals for the third straight year.
In addition to Noles, CSU placed Danny Davidson, C.J. Bressoud, Brandon Masters, Jonnie Geiger, and Rodney Rutherford on the All-PBC roster. Davidson currently leads the conferenc and the nation in strikeouts with 116 and enters tournament play with a 7-3 mark. Bressoud batted a solid .360 this season and is second on the squad with 10 home runs and third with 40 RBI. Masters has carried a hot bat all season and is currently second on the team with a .370 batting average and leads the team with 17 doubles and 69 runs scored. Geiger enters Thursday's tournament game with a .367 average - third on the team - and leads the PBC in steals with 35 in 38 tries. He is the CSU and PBC career leader in stolen bases, as well. Rutherford has had a monster season and enters Thursday as one of the hottest hitters in the league, hitting .538 with five homers and 17 RBI in his last 10 games. He leads CSU in hitting with a .382 average and currently leads the nation with his school-record shatterin g 25 round-trippers.
CSU begins its quest for the PBC Tournament title on Thursday at 10 AM, facing #6 seed Armstrong Atlantic State in the opening game of the 2008 tournament.