Monday, May 24, 2010

MACON, Ga. – Mercer’s Tyler McCarty earned Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week honors after leading Mercer to a 2-1 weekend at home against Belmont to clinch the number two seed in the A-Sun Baseball Championship, while USC Upstate’s Matt Branham recorded his second pitching honor of the season after he set two Spartan records in a win against William & Mary in the season finale.

McCarty collected nine hits, good for .643 batting average, while adding two home runs, five RBIs and six runs scored as he helped the Bears finish their 2010 regular season with a 33-22 overall record. The mark equates to the fourth-highest winning percentage in a single season (.600) in team history. The senior, from Griffin, Ga., finished the season with 75 hits and a .357 batting average.

Sporting a newly-trimmed mohawk, Branham did some mowing of his own on Wednesday night in the final game of his collegiate career. The senior hurler won his 17th career game by tossing seven strong innings against William & Mary, allowing just two seventh-inning runs. In between, Branham struck out eight batters, first tying his own single-season strikeout record with a third inning leadoff strikeout of Derek Lowe.

In the fifth, the Columbia, S.C. native broke the record he set in 2009 with his 83rd punchout of the year with a leadoff strikeout of Sean Aiken. In the sixth, Branham broke the school's career strikeout record, passing Scott Eckard (2005-08) with his 262nd career K, striking out Tadd Bower. After that, the senior added two more strikeouts to give him eight in the game, 86 on the season and 264 in his career.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers
Mikel Alvarez, FGCU (Jr. - IF - West Palm Beach, Fla. - Business Management) – Alvarez led FGCU to a 3-1 record last week, as Eagles posted a three-game sweep of UNF. For the week, the West Palm Beach, Fla. native hit .647 with 11 hits, one double and four RBI. Alvarez also recorded a slugging percentage of .706 and an on-base percentage of .650 for the week.

Chris Bangi, Campbell (Sr. - OF - Jacksonville, Fla. - Health & Wellness Management) – Bangi set a school record by reaching base via a hit, walk or HBP in all 52 games he played. The Jacksonville, Fla. native led Campbell to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2001 and led the A-Sun in OBP (.548) and HBP (22), while ranking second in batting average (.417), third in steals (26) and fourth in walks (38). For the week, Bangi batted .583 (7-12) with one double, three runs and four RBI, in addition to one steal and three assists from left field in three games.

Brian Dempsey, USC Upstate (Sr. - OF - Montverde, Fla. - Physical Education) – Dempsey recorded six hits to pace USC Upstate's offense in a pair of games against William & Mary, in addition to three doubles, four runs and five RBI. On Tuesday, the senior outfielder posted three hits, two doubles, a steal, two RBI and two runs against the Tribe. Dempsey followed that by finishing his career with a 3-for-5 game, posting two runs, three RBI, a double and a steal to pace the Spartans to an 8-6 win, helping him finish with a career-high .308 batting average and a team-high 14 doubles.

Chris Sale, FGCU (Jr. - LHP - Lakeland, Fla. - Criminal Justice) – Sale entered the Friday matchup with UNF as the nation’s leader in strikeouts. The junior lefty took the mound for his final regular season appearance of the year. Sale, a native of Lakeland, Fla., improved to a perfect 10-0 on the season after allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, to go with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work.