@GWUBaseball Places Record Six Men On All-Big South Conference Team
May 23, 2016 | Baseball
@GWUBaseball | Big South Conference Release
LEXINGTON, S.C. – Gardner-Webb placed a school-record six men on the 2016 All-Big South Conference Baseball Team and saw first baseman Patrick Graham named Scholar-Athlete of the Year Monday afternoon.
The Runnin' Bulldogs had starting pitcher Brad Haymes (6-3, 205, Sr.), second baseman Collin Thacker (5-9, 195, Jr.), catcher Justin Kunz (5-9, 175, Fr.) and right fielder Danny Sullivan (6-4, 200, Jr.) on the first team. Relief pitcher Wil Sellers (6-1, 180, So.) earned second team honors and starting pitcher Jeremy Walker (6-5, 200, Jr.) was an honorable mention choice.
The six selections are the most for Gardner-Webb's baseball program in its history, for any conference. Gardner-Webb first joined an all-sports conference in 1990 (South Atlantic) and has been a member of the Big South Conference since the 2009 season. The previous high was four selections, last accomplished in 2000 as members of the South Atlantic Conference.
Only league champion and top-20 squad Coastal Carolina had more selections this season (8) than Gardner-Webb. No other program had more than three.
Graham (6-1, 225, Sr.) earned a spot on the league's All-Academic Team, but was also named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The standout first baseman graduated earlier this month with a degree in economics/finance – forging an excellent 3.91 cumulative grade point average in the process.
Graham was named first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District III in April and will be on the ballot for Academic All-America honors that will be announced in early June. The former Athens Drive (N.C.) High slugger is in the midst of a career-best season on the diamond, batting .321 with seven doubles, two home runs and 32 RBI. His grand slam earlier this year vs. High Point was the first for a GWU batter since the 2011 season opener.
Graham also fielded a clean .992 at first base this season, committing only four errors in 494 total chances. He has just four errors in two full seasons manning first base.
Haymes was a strong first-team selection – and was runner up for the league's Pitcher of the Year award – with Coastal Carolina righty Andrew Beckwith edging Haymes by a mere five voting points.
Haymes sits at 10-3 with a 2.30 ERA in his 14 starts and leads the Big South this season in the majority of its major pitching categories – including wins (10), strikeouts (109), innings pitched (101.2), complete games (7) and shutouts (3). He is holding opponents to a cool .222 batting average and has walked only 13 batters in his 101.2 innings of work.
The Tightsqueeze, Va., senior is the first 10-game winner for Gardner-Webb since 2000 and is the first man in program history to win at least 10 games and strike out 100 batters in the same season. He is tied for the school's single-season mark in overall complete games (7) and has more 9.0-inning complete game wins (6) than any pitcher in the GWU record book for a single season.
All three of Haymes' shutouts came against Big South Conference foes.
Thacker also cemented himself as one of the Big South's best players, regardless of position, in 2016. He was runner up for a major award – finishing second to Coastal Carolina slugger Connor Owings in Big South Conference Player of the Year award voting.
Thacker burst onto the scene early in 2016 and sits second in the conference with a career-best .394 average heading into tournament play and has belted a career-high four home runs. The Wilmington, N.C., junior paces the Big South in hits (82) and is tied for the league and NCAA Division I lead win doubles (26). He also ranks among the league leaders in RBI (45) and runs scored (41).
He has surpassed his previous career totals – two years combined – this season in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, runs scored, walks and at bats. He has been sit down on strikes just 15 times in 208 at bats this season. Thacker is also fielding a solid .976 at second base, with only six errors in a career-best 245 total chances.
Kunz forced himself into the lineup with a hot bat, emerging as a top freshman on March 16 when he tied a school record with three home runs in a game at Western Carolina. The Wake Forest, N.C., catcher continued to make strides – both at the plate and defensively – and became a fixture near the top of the GWU batting order.
Kunz was runner up for Big South Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016, trailing Liberty outfielder D.J. Artis for that award. He enters the league tournament at third on the team's stat sheet with a .344 average and has contributed 11 doubles, six home runs and 22 RBI in 34 starts.
Kunz has a strong .400 on base percentage and has struck out only 16 times on the season. He has thrown out 10 potential base thieves and leads Gardner-Webb with three pickoffs at first base.
Sullivan was one of the Big South Conference's most consistent bats during league play, batting an even .400 during 24 conference starts – which ranked second on the circuit. Overall, Sullivan batted .359 with 75 hits, 42 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples and a team-best eight home runs.
The Denver, N.C., native drove in 34 runs and ranked second to only Thacker with a .404 on base percentage this season. He played six different positions defensively, but settled in as a strong-armed right fielder. Sullivan led Gardner-Webb with a pair of outfield assists in 2016.
Sellers earned second-team All-Big South Conference honors after setting a Gardner-Webb record with 12 saves – smashing the previous mark by three heading into the postseason. The Kings Mountain, N.C., sophomore is 1-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 24 appearances – all out of the bullpen.
Sellers has fanned 50 batters in 49.2 innings of work and limits teams to a frigid .209 batting average. He has been a part of two combined shutouts this season, which is tied for the team lead.
Walker quietly worked himself into one of the Big South Conference's most consistent starters, going on a tear midway through the 2016 season to finish strong. The hard-throwing righty enters the postseason at 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 92.1 innings of work.
The Advance, N.C., native ranks second in the Big South to Haymes in strikeouts and has two complete games to his credit this season. Walker tossed a one hitter earlier this season in a 3-1 win over High Point, carrying a no hitter into the seventh inning.
The individual honors continue what has been a historic season for Gardner-Webb baseball overall. The Runnin' Bulldogs established new program records for regular season wins (36) and Division I era wins (36) and with its tie for second place finished higher in the regular season conference standings than any team before it – regardless of conference affiliation.
Gardner-Webb enters postseason play with five batters above .300, five with at least 10 doubles and six who have driven in at least 20 runs. Centerfielder Mason Fox is nearing that .300 line after batting a sizzling .500 over his last six games played. The speedy Fox sits at .288 with nine doubles, a pair of home runs and a team-high 16 steals entering the tournament. Gardner-Webb bats .293 as a team, which ranks second among Big South offenses.
The GWU pitching staff ranks second in the league with a 3.90 team ERA and has already established a new school single-season mark with 438 strikeouts this season – surpassing the previous mark of 417 set in 2000 (65 games). Gardner-Webb's three weekend starters – Haymes, Walker and southpaw Ryan Boelter (4-0, 3.07 ERA) – have combined to go 23-7 this season.
Gardner-Webb (36-19) begins the 2016 Big South Conference Tournament on Tuesday night, battling Presbyterian at 8:15 PM at Lexington County Stadium in Lexington, S.C. The game will air live on The Big South Network (bigsouthsports.com).
