LaGrange had 10 players receive USA South All-Conference awards as announced by the conference Thursday. The Panthers, the West Division regular season champions, had three who were both on the All-Conference and West Division teams, two more on the West Division first team, and five on the West Division second team.
LC led all conference schools with the 10 selections. William Peace had seven and East Division regular season champion N.C. Wesleyan had six. The Panthers and N.C. Wesleyan meet in the USA South Tournament championship best-of-three series starting Sunday.
All-Conference First Team, West Division First Team
Cael Chatham, Sophomore, Shortstop- Chatham is fourth on the team with a .365 batting average. He leads the team with seven home runs and is third in RBIs (33), runs scored (37), and tied for second in hits (42). Chatham is tied for fourth in the conference in home runs. He was the USA South Player of the Week after having batting .692 (9-for-13) with five runs scored, a double, two home runs, and 13 RBIs in a three-game sweep of Maryville on April 17-18.
McKinley Erves, Junior, Outfield- Erves is on the all-conference team for the second time. He was a second team selection in the outfield in 2019. He leads the team and is third in the conference with a .389 batting average. Erves has three home runs and 32 RBIs. He has hit safely in 24 of 29 games. Erves is second on the team with a .472 on-base percentage. He tied his career high of four RBIs this season against Maryville on Feb. 27 and Emory on March 21.
Joe Ruth, Junior, Third Base- Ruth makes his second all-conference team. He was a second team outfielder in 2019. Ruth is batting .370 with four home runs, and is second on the team with 36 RBIs. He is tied for the conference lead with 14 doubles. Ruth leads the team in hits (44), runs scored (40), and slugging percentage (.622). He is tied for first in the NCAA Division III statistics with nine sacrifice flies.
West Division First Team
Baley Coleman, Sophomore, Pitcher- Coleman is 7-3 with a 2.93 ERA. He led the pitching staff in appearances (12), games started (11), complete games (2), innings pitched (70-2/3), and strikeouts (61). Coleman had a career-high 12 strikeouts against Covenant on April 2.
Trey Pearce, Junior, First Base- Pearce is second on the team in batting with a .375 average. He has three home runs and is third on the team with 35 RBIs. Pearce has not committed an error in 183 chances. He went 8-for-12 with a home run and five RBIs in the first round of the USA South Tournament against Piedmont.
West Division Second Team
E.J. Churchich, Senior, Designated Hitter- Churchich is hitting .336 on the season. He is second on the team with six home runs and has a team-leading 37 RBIs. Churchich was the USA South Player of the Week after batting 5-for-10 (.500) with a home run and seven RBIs in a three-game sweep of Maryville on Feb. 27-28. Churchich had three home runs and nine RBIs in the first round of the USA South Tournament against Piedmont.
Spencer Douches, Senior, Pitcher- Douches was 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA in a team-high 13 appearances as a relief pitcher. He was second in the USA South with four saves. Douches struck out 36 in 22-1/3 innings. He struck out a season-high six batters and got the save against Emory on March 20.
Rhett Hebert, Sophomore, Second Base- Hebert is hitting .350 with 17 RBIs. He has only four errors in 109 chances at second base. Hebert had a season-high three RBIs in the second game against Piedmont in the first round of the USA South Tournament.
Jack Layrisson, Junior, Outfield- Layrisson is on the all-conference team for the second time. He was the USA South Rookie of the Year and an honorable mention selection at first base in 2018. He is batting .330 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. He leads the team in triples (3) and walks (26). Layrisson is second in runs scored (38) and slugging percentage (.608). He had two doubles, a home run, three RBIs, and scored four runs in the first game against Piedmont in the first round of the USA South Tournament.
Rhett Mixon, Sophomore, Outfield- Mixon is batting .333 with 11 RBIs. He leads the team in stolen bases with six and has been hit a team-high 10 times. Mixon went 3-for-3, including a double, scored three runs and drove in one against Covenant on April 3.
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