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5/11/2009 - BASEBALL
Complete Game Gem Lands Mauldin Weekly Honor
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Photo Courtesy JUDolphins.com
MACON, Ga. - The race for a spot in the 2009 Atlantic Sun Championship heats up as the season moves along and Andy Mauldin of Stetson and Jeremy Gillan of Jacksonville posted big weeks to help their teams into prime position for the upcoming tournament while earning the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Pitcher and Player of the Week honors.
Mauldin registered Stetson’s first complete game victory of the season in a 4-1 defeat of ETSU. The senior right hander fanned 11 Bucs to help the Hatters clinch a spot in next week’s Atlantic Sun Championship. A crucial moment faced Mauldin in the third inning as ETSU strung together three consecutive hits, including a game-tying RBI single from Bo Reeder. However, the starter induced a double-play ball followed by a fly out to limit the damage to one run. After that instance, Mauldin did not allow another hit and capped the game by striking out the side in the ninth inning. The Gainesville, Fla., native majors in Marketing. Stetson swept the series with ETSU and stand in a three-way tie with Belmont and Lipscomb for the second-seed in the championship heading into the season’s final weekend.
Gillan dug the long ball over the past week as the Dolphins are primed to earn the top seed in the conference tourney. In five games, the catcher hit .409 while blasting five homers. During the week, which carried over from a Sunday contest at Kennesaw State, Gillan hit a home run in four consecutive games (Kennesaw State, Florida A&M, Florida State and Bethune-Cookman) to nearly double his season total. Among the individual highlights for the week, the Port St. Lucie, Fla., native went 3-for-4 with a double and a career-best two home runs while tallying four RBI at Florida A&M. On Sunday at Mercer, the senior pulled the Dolphins' magic number to one by going 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBI. With the five jacks, Gillan ran his season total to 11 home runs and becomes one of 18 players in the A-Sun to post double figure home run totals so far this season.
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
Chris Bangi, Campbell (Jr. - OF - Jacksonville, Fla. - Health & Wellness Management) Reached base 13 times in 15 plate appearances at Lipscomb. Went 7-for-9 with two walks and five hit-by-pitch.
Tennyson Dodd, Lipscomb (Fr. - DH - Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Psychology) Posted a career-best seven RBI in 12-11 win over Campbell. Also belted two homers in that game.
Eric Guillen, USC Upstate (Sr. - SS - Thousand Oaks, Calif. – Information Management & Systems) Racked up five multi-hit games in Upstate’s 4-2 week. Moved into 10th place in school history with 183 career hits.
Zack Maxfield, FGCU (So. - IF - North Port, Fla. - Criminal Justice) Hit .476 with nine runs scored and 10 RBI in FGCU’s 4-1 week. Drove in half those runs in A-Sun series win at Kennesaw State.
Austin Moyer, USC Upstate (Fr. - RHP - Greensboro, N.C. - Undecided) Fanned a career-high seven batters on his way to picking up his third win of the season against Charleston Southern in mid-week action.
Justin Preckajlo, UNF (Jr. - OF - Atlantic Beach, Fla. - Fine Arts) Hit .500 with two homers and eight RBI in UNF’s series win at USC Upstate. Finished a home run shy of the cycle in the series finale.
Derek Shaw, FGCU (Sr. - RHP - New Port Richey, Fla. - Marketing) Struck out 10 batters in 7.1 innings of work out of the bullpen.
