Wednesday April 20, 2005
GOOD NAMED SSAC BASEBALL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Four Saints Selected to All-Conference Team
Cleveland, Tenn. – North Georgia College & State University freshman catcher Eric Good (Dahlonega, Ga.) was named Southern States Athletic Conference co-Freshman of the Year by the coaches of the conference. The Saints placed four on the SSAC All-Conference Team as well as five student/athletes on the All-Academic squad.
Good is batting .357 in 48 games for North Georgia this season and is listed in the top five in six different statistical categories on the team. He is ninth in the conference in on base percentage and 10th in runs scored. In conference games, Good has hit .378 with 31 runs, 23 RBIs, and two home runs for the Saints. In an 8-3 win against Freed Hardeman University this year, he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs. Good has also performed well in the field, posting a .986 fielding percentage with 66 put outs and only one error.
Senior outfielder Richie Daigle (Alpharetta, Ga.), senior pitcher Jason Willard (Columbus, Ga.), junior second baseman Brian Lauderdale (Roswell, Ga.), and sophomore third baseman Justin Rickett (Cumming, Ga.) were all named to the SSAC All-Conference team.
Daigle is batting .350 and leads the conference in home runs with 15. He is also ranked second in the conference in RBIs (58) and is third in hits (55) and runs scored (64). Daigle is batting .365 in conference games and has hit nine of his 15 homers against conference opponents. In his two seasons with the Saints, he has hit 23 home runs and 99 RBIs.
Willard has posted an 11-2 overall record in 13 starts and a 1.96 ERA for the Saints this season. He is tied for first in the conference in wins, second in opposing batting average (.191), and fourth in ERA and strikeouts (80). In 78 innings pitched, he has allowed only 17 earned runs and has pitched two shutouts. He was named conference Pitcher of the Week on April 12 after pitching a two hit shutout against Southern Polytechnic State University.
Lauderdale leads the SSAC in seven statistical categories and has been one of the Saints top hitters all season long. His 82 runs scored, 87 hits, 66 RBIs, 135 total bases, nine sacrifice flies, and 26 stolen bases lead the conference. He is also ranked in the top 10 in home runs, doubles, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and batting average. This week he was named Player of the Week and was also named to the conference 2005 All-Academic Team.
Rickett is batting .399 this season and has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games. At one point during the season, he hit safely in 15 straight games from March 10 to April 2. Rickett has only had seven games this season where he has not recorded at least one hit and has posted 17 multi-hit games. He leads the team in batting average and on base percentage (.511) as well as ranking in the top five in seven different categories.
Along with Lauderdale, the Saints had four other student/athletes selected to the All-Academic team. Junior outfielder Ryan Gurley (Jefferson, Ga.), junior infielder Kyle Potts (Jefferson, Ga.), sophomore pitcher Craig McKee (Buford, Ga.), and sophomore pitcher Brannon Sikes (Acworth, Ga.) were also selected to the All-Academic squad.
Gurley is batting .345 for the season with 43 runs and 50 RBIs. He is one of three players who have played all 58 games for North Georgia this season and has a perfect fielding percentage with 61 put outs from his left field position.
Potts is batting .400 in 17 games for North Georgia. He has three home runs, 15 runs, and 25 RBIs as well as a .852 fielding percentage at shortstop.
McKee has appeared in nine games and has posted a 1-0 record for the Saints. He has five strikeouts this season and has allowed only six earned runs while scattering nine hits.
Sikes has a 3.38 ERA with a 1-1 overall record. He has allowed only eight earned runs and struck out 28 batters this year in 21 1/3 innings of work.
The 17th ranked North Georgia baseball team will play today at noon in the first round of the SSAC Tournament. The Saints will face SPSU as they begin their quest to advance once again to the NAIA Region XIII Tournament.
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