Three Redhawks receive all-OVC first-team honor

Three Southeast Missouri State baseball players were named first-team all-Ohio Valley Conference on Tuesday.

The voting, done by the league's coaches and sports information directors, was announced on the eve of the OVC tournament in Paducah, Ky.

Sophomore catcher Jim Klocke, junior first baseman Matt Wagner and junior outfielder Tyrell Cummings were recognized from the Redhawks.

In addition, Southeast freshman third baseman Trenton Moses from Advance High School made the OVC all-freshman team.

The Redhawks, who finished sixth in the 10-team conference, had the second-most first-team selections. Regular-season champion Jacksonville State led the way with five.

Southeast had three players named to the league's top squad for the first time since 2003.

Klocke, the OVC's rookie of the year last season, leads the Redhawks and ranks seventh in the league with a .359 batting average. He is seventh in the OVC with a .458 on-base percentage. He has six home runs and 40 RBIs.

Wagner, batting .335, is second on the Redhawks with nine homers — tied for fifth in the OVC — and 46 RBIs. He hit .396 in league games, fifth best in the OVC, and ranks third with 30 RBIs during conference play.

Cummings, a junior college transfer in his first season at Southeast, is among the OVC leaders in hits, runs, doubles, home runs, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage. He is second in the league with 12 homers and 56 RBIs, while also leading the Redhawks in doubles with 16. His average is .341, second-best on the squad.

Moses has had a solid rookie season, batting .280 with four homers and 23 RBIs. He batted .304 in OVC play.

Top OVC honors

For the first time since 1992, the OVC player of the year award was shared as Jacksonville State senior outfielder Clay Whittemore and Samford junior shortstop Michael Marseco split the votes.

Whittemore, the 2007 OVC player of the year, is batting .421 with 17 doubles, six triples, eight homers and 63 RBIs.

Marseco is batting .407 with 12 doubles, five triples, five homers and 46 RBIs.

Eastern Kentucky junior left-hander Christian Friedrich is the OVC pitcher of the year, with Jacksonville State freshman outfielder Todd Cunningham the rookie of the year and Jacksonville State's Jim Case the coach of the year.

Friedrich, expected to go in the first round of next month's amateur draft, ranks among the national leaders in ERA, strikeouts and hits allowed. In 81 2/3 innings, he is 5-1 with a 1.43 ERA. He has allowed 40 hits while striking out 108 and walking 33.

Cunningham is batting .343 with an OVC-best 62 runs scored, 14 doubles, three triples and 29 RBIs.

Case, also the OVC coach of the year in 2005, led the Gamecocks to a 36-19 overall record and a 23-4 OVC mark as they set a conference record for most league wins in a season.

 

OVC awards

Co-Player of the Year — Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State

Co-Player of the Year — Michael Marseco, Samford

Pitcher of the Year — Christian Friedrich, Eastern Kentucky

Rookie of the Year — Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State

Coach of the Year — Jim Case, Jacksonville State

ALL-OVC

First team

C — Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri

1B — Matt Wagner, Southeast Missouri

2B — Bert Smith, Jacksonville State

SS — Michael Marseco, Samford

3B — Tyler Farrar, Austin Peay

OF — Brett Nommensen, Eastern Illinois

OF — Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State

OF — Tyrell Cummings, Southeast Missouri

DH — Wes Cunningham, Murray State

UTIL — Steven Leach, Jacksonville State

SP — Christian Friedrich, Eastern Kentucky

SP — Ben Tootle, Jacksonville State

RP — Alex Jones, Jacksonville State

Second team

C — Bear Burnett, Samford

1B — Matt Kole, Austin Peay

2B — Matt Mihoci, Tennessee Tech

SS — Thomas Nelson, Tennessee Tech

3B — Tyler Owen, Murray State

OF — Rafael Hill, Austin Peay

OF — Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State

OF — Jake New, Tennessee Tech

DH — Brian Piazza, Jacksonville State

DH — Michael Rutledge, Samford

UTIL — Michael Bottoms, Morehead State

SP — Jonathan Stephens, Samford

SP — Brian Booth, Jacksonville State

RP — Daniel Tenholder, Austin Peay

Freshman team

C — Casey Branham, Morehead State

1B/P — Wes Patterson, UT Martin

INF — Greg Bachman, Austin Peay

2B — Michael Johnson, Samford

SS — Jake Sharrock, Jacksonville State

3B — Trenton Moses, Southeast Missouri

3B — Michael Fear, Morehead State

3B — Jayson Langfels, Eastern Kentucky

OF — Ryan Faidley, Eastern Kentucky

OF — Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State

DH/P — A.J. Kirby-Jones, Tennessee Tech

RHP — Josh Mueller, Eastern Illinois

RHP — Jordan Beistline, Jacksonville State