FLORENCE, S.C. – The 28th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team continued a time-honored tradition for itself on Tuesday evening when the Braves sent six players to the 2017 All-Peach Belt Conference Baseball Team.
Kyle Ramsey earned a spot on the first team squad, while Ethan Baucom, Anthony Burke, Nick Debo, Jarratt Mobley and Roberto Rivera were all decorated with second team accolades. Debo also picked up the league's Elite 15 award, given annually to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average to reach the conference championships.
It is the ninth time in the last 10 years that the Black & Gold has sent at least one representative to all-league accolades, and the third time in the last four years that UNCP has had five or more players decorated with the honor. Regular season champion North Georgia had a league-best nine players earn all-PBC recognition on Tuesday, while the Braves and Georgia College followed closely behind with six selections apiece.
Baucom punched his way into the starting lineup for good in early March and has compiled a team-best .399 (57-for-143) batting average to go along with 24 extra-base hits (10 HR), 48 RBI and 45 runs scored. The Rockingham native has tallied 18 multiple-hit outings this season, including a pair of 5-hit showings, and has accounted for a team-leading 14 multiple-RBI contests as well. The redshirt freshman earned PBC Player of the Week recognition on May 1 after turning in a .571 series with three RBI and five runs scored at Armstrong State. He will take an 18-game hitting streak into the postseason, and has reached base safely in 31-straight games.
Burke, a Fredericksburg, Va., native who played last season at the College of Charleston, made 13 starts for the Braves this season and registered a 9-1 record and a 3.95 ERA in 82 innings pitched with 63 strikeouts and 23 walks. The sophomore right-hander accounted for five victories this season against league competition, including a 10-strikeout performance in an upset victory over then-No. 1 North Georgia in late March. He closed out the regular season by tacking up victories in five of his last six starts. He logged his first career complete game outing with a six-strikeout outing in the series opener with Coker on April 22.
Debo hit .364 (56-for-154) with 21 extra-base hits (11 HR), 42 RBI and 53 runs scored as UNCP's everyday right fielder this season, while also swiping 20 bases in 25 attempts. The Durham product put up 15 multiple-hit and nine multi-RBI outings, and also homered against 10 different foes, including a two-home run game at nationally-ranked Catawba on March 1. A weapon on defense as well, Debo has compiled a 1.000 fielding percentage in 99 total chances this season, while also notching four outfield assists as well. He earned PBC Player of the Week honors in week 1 after posting a .700 series against defending Mountain East Conference champion, Shepherd.
A Tarboro native, Mobley has hit .314 with 11 extra-base hits (4 HR), 36 RBI and 35 runs scored during his rookie campaign, and has logged 20 starts at third base and 20 more at shortstop. A .337 hitting against PBC foes, Mobley earned PBC Player of the Week recognition in late March after turning in a monster .750 series against then-No. 1 North Georgia that included a 2-home run, 7-RBI showing in the series opener with the Nighthawks. The true freshman has tacked up 13 multiple-hit and 10 multiple RBI games, and has committed just nine errors in the infield, including an impressive .961 fielding percentage at shortstop.
Ramsey has made a team-best 18 relief appearances this season, while also compiling a 4-2 record with a 2.36 ERA and five saves in 26-2/3 innings from the hill, including a 3-1 record with a 2.76 ERA and a pair of saves inside league play. The Weaverville product struck out five and yielded just two hits in two scoreless innings of relief on the way to notching a save against then-No. 1 North Georgia on March 26, and has allowed just three earned runs over his last eight appearances (12 IP) heading into the postseason. He is the first relief pitcher to earn first team all-league honors for the Braves since 2012 (Braxton Lewis).
Rivera is the only player to play in all 50 games (50 starts) for the Black & Gold so far this season and ranks among the nation's top 10 leaders in three statistical categories. The Millville, N.J., native has produced a .391 (81-for-207) batting average to go along with 18 extra-base hits (school-record nine triples), 41 RBI and 69 runs scored. His 23 stolen bases (30 attempts) this season is the most for a UNCP player in five seasons. The junior has accounted for a team-best 27 multiple-hit games this season, but has also produced 10 multiple-RBI outings and has scored two or more runs in 20 contests as well. He has hit triples against nine different opponents in 2017, and hit his first two career home runs in a home doubleheader with Coker on April 22.
The fifth-seeded Braves (37-13) will open up PBC Tournament play against fourth-seeded Columbus State (29-19) on Wednesday evening at Francis Marion's Sparrow Stadium. First pitch is slated for 8:30 p.m.
2017 Peach Belt Conference Baseball
All-Conference Team
First Team
| 1b |
Mason McClellan |
Columbus State |
| 2b |
Michael Bell |
North Georgia |
| 3b |
Cal Gentry |
Georgia College |
| SS |
Brandon Benson |
Georgia College |
| C |
Brian Perreira |
USC Aiken |
| DH |
Ryan Patterson |
Armstrong State |
| UT |
Zach Odom |
Young Harris |
| OF |
Michael Gouge |
North Georgia |
| OF |
Mitchell Price |
USC Aiken |
| OF |
Dylan Jones |
Flagler |
| OF |
Mike Warren |
Armstrong State |
| SP |
Joseph Benitez |
USC Aiken |
| SP |
Steven Bower |
North Georgia |
| SP |
Dylan Peppers |
North Georgia |
| SP |
Caleb Kutsche |
Columbus State |
| RP |
Kyle Ramsey |
UNC Pembroke |
Second Team
| 1b |
Sebastian Samuels |
Montevallo |
| 1b |
Ethan Baucom |
UNC Pembroke |
| 2b |
Caleb Ledbetter |
Montevallo |
| 3b |
Devin Gearhart |
North Georgia |
| 3b |
Alex Kranick |
Georgia Southwestern |
| SS |
Connor Hoover |
North Georgia |
| C |
Brandon Purcell |
Georgia College |
| DH |
Bill Leroy |
North Georgia |
| UT |
Ethan Crout |
Flagler |
| UT |
Jarratt Mobley |
UNC Pembroke |
| OF |
Wesley Wommack |
Georgia College |
| OF |
Logan Mattix |
Georgia College |
| OF |
Nick Debo |
UNC Pembroke |
| OF |
Roberto Rivera |
UNC Pembroke |
| SP |
Daniel McCrary |
North Georgia |
| SP |
Michael Maiocco |
Flagler |
| SP |
Anthony Burke |
UNC Pembroke |
| SP |
Michael Livingston |
Young Harris |
| RP |
Josh Bryan |
North Georgia |
| RP |
Grant Khan |
Georgia College |
Elite 15 Award Presented by EAB
Nick Debo, UNC Pembroke
Player of the Year
Brandon Benson, Georgia College
Pitcher of the Year
Joseph Benitez, USC Aiken
Freshman of the Year
Sebastian Samuels, Montevallo
Coach of the Year
Tom Cantrell, North Georgia
