Hilton, Jackson and Quattlebaum Earn All-Tournament Honors
May 27, 2012 | Baseball
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Gardner-Webb's Beau Hilton, Benji Jackson and Dusty Quattlebaum were named to the Big South Conference's 2012 All-Tournament Team Saturday afternoon.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (32-28) advanced to the semifinals before falling to No. 3 Liberty on Friday morning. Top-seeded Coastal Carolina won the league's championship with a 4-1 win over the Flames on Saturday afternoon.
Hilton earned his spot on the All-Tournament squad on the strength of his lone appearance. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound freshman hurled a complete-game, four-hit shutout to eliminate No. 5 Radford on Thursday, striking out three batters and throwing just 90 pitches in the gem.
The Jacksonville, Fla., rookie was strong during the season's late stages, forging a 3-0 record and an 0.45 ERA in his last three starts - including his tournament performance. Hilton is one of a strong group of returning starters in Gardner-Webb's rotation, with the staff's top-7 arms all set to return in 2013.
Hilton's performance was part of a fine overall effort by Gardner-Webb's pitching staff. The Runnin' Bulldogs forged an impressive 1.77 ERA in four tournament games, striking out 24 and walking only six in 35.2 innings of total work. Opponents batted a cool .226 against the 'Dogs in the postseason.
Jackson also continued a late-season surge in the tournament, batting .375 with a pair of runs scored, three doubles and five RBI. His 6-for-16 effort at the plate was tied for the team lead over the event's four games, as was his .412 on base percentage.
Jackson finished the season batting .264 with 10 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 25 RBI and four stolen bases in 44 starts. His .356 on base percentage for the year ranked fifth on the team.
The Harrisburg, N.C., junior is one of six returning position starters expected back for the Runnin' Bulldogs in 2013, which represented six of the team's top-7 hitters from this past season.
Quattlebaum was a major power threat in this season's tournament, belting three home runs and driving in six runs in four games. He also scored four runs and led the Runnin' Bulldogs with an .813 slugging percentage.
The redshirt senior struck out just once in the tournament. His four-RBI, two-home run effort in the win over No. 5 Radford keyed an 11-0 shutout.
The Boiling Springs, N.C., native finished his final season with Gardner-Webb by hitting .302 with a career-high 10 home runs in 60 starts. Quattlebaum added 12 doubles, scored 35 runs and drove in a team-high 48 runs on the season. He was named to the Capital One Academic All-District III first team for the second season in a row.
Coastal Carolina pitchers Aaron Burke and Ryan Connolly shared Co-MVP honors on the All-Tournament Team. The Chanticleers had five players represented on the team, while Gardner-Webb, High Point and Liberty each had three.
Gardner-Webb reached the 30-win plateau for the second season in a row.
2012 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
P: Aaron Burke, Coastal Carolina (co-MVP)
P: Ryan Connolly, Coastal Carolina (co-MVP)
P: Patrick Eckelbarger, Liberty
P: Beau
Hilton, Gardner-Webb
DH: Alex Buccilli, Coastal Carolina
OF: Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina
OF: Devin Bujnovsky, High Point
OF: Benji
Jackson, Gardner-Webb
INF: Rich Witten, Coastal Carolina
INF: Alex Close, Liberty
INF: Ryan Retz, High Point
INF: Dusty
Quattlebaum, Gardner-Webb
C: Trey Wimmer, Liberty
UTL: Spencer Angelis, High Point
