Eight Bearkats Earn Baseball All-Southland Honors

By: SHSU Sports Information Department/Paul Ridings

Updated: Mon 6:42 PM, May 21, 2012

HUNTSVILLE, TX -- Third baseman Kevin Miller and designated hitter Anthony Azar were first team selections to top a list of eight Sam Houston players who have been voted to the 2012 All-Southland Conference baseball squad.

Pitcher Caleb Smith is a second team selection. Outfielder Jake Arrington and pitcher Michael Oros are members of the third team. Honorable mention selections for the Bearkats are outfielders Luke Plucheck and Colt Atwood and pitcher Justin Jackson.

In addition, first-year head coach David Pierce of Sam Houston has been voted as the 2012 Southland Conference "Coach of the Year."

Azar and Miller led the Bearkats in hitting and ranked second and 15th in the league in hitting this season. Azar has produced a .383 batting mean, leading Sam Houston with 33 RBIs. The sophomore from the Woodlands has produced 20 multiple hit games.

Miller hit .326 this spring, producing Sam Houston's longest hitting streak of the season (12 games) and 16 multiple hit performances. Miller totaled 61 hits including nine doubles.

Smith owns an 8-4 record on the mound in 2012, ranking fourth in the Southland Conference with a 2.64 earned run average. The sophomore held foes to a .202 batting average and led the Bearkats with 79 strike outs.

Arrington has hit .297 with seven doubles, eight triples and three home runs this season for a .483 slugging average. The senior outfielder leads the Southland in triples and has posted 15 multiple-hit games.

Oros boasts the third best earned run average in the Southland Conference with a team-leading 2.29 mark. The senior owns a 7-1 record on the mound with two saves. He has totaled 52 strikes and limited foes to a .188 batting average.

Plucheck hit .295 with six doubles, five triples and one home run while Atwood has been one of the league's top freshmen with a .316 average, third best on the team, including eight doubles and two triples. Jackson has totaled a 7-4 record with a 3.26 earned run average and 57 strike outs.

The eight All-Southland Bearkats led Sam Houston its first league regular season title since 1989. With only three returning starters and 16 newcomers on the 35-man roster, the Kats tied the Southland record for most league victories in a season (24) and rolled to series victories in 10 of their 11 weekend outings. Three of the series wins were sweeps.

Sam Houston is the No. 1 seed at the Southland Conference post-season tournament in San Marcos which begins Wednesday.

Cannon's 2 Out Single Propels Centerville to 4-2 Win Over Salado

We ask that the following Community Standards be followed:

Comments must not be profane or vulgar.

Comments must not use hate speech, racial slurs, or violent descriptions.

We encourage varying views to be shared. We do ask commenters to not personally attack other readers, groups, people featured in our stories, or other posters for disagreeing with their views.

Comments must not contain negative, comparative debates between community standards of cities or towns.

Comments must contribute to the discussion, flaming and/or trolling will not be tolerated.

Comments must be truthful and not intentionally falsified. Providing a source link is encouraged.

If you find that a comment violates the above rules, please use the flagging option located to the right of the comment to notify the moderators.
For a complete list of guidelines, please follow this link:
http://www.kbtx.com/home/misc/Online-Commenting-Policy-181579421.html