Three Highlanders Earn Big South Honors

ROCK HILL, S.C.--Three Radford baseball players were honored by the Big South Thursday at the Big South Baseball awards ceremony. Mark Fleisher, Alan Ashworth and Cory Koliscak were all honored by the League.

Fleisher, a junior was named the First Team All-Conference first baseman. Ashworth, also a junior, was the Second Team second baseman. Koliscak, a sophomore, was named the the Big South baseball All-Academic Team.

Birmingham-Southern’s Brian Shoop and Coastal Carolina’s Mike Costanzo were named Big South Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, by the League’s coaches and sports information directors Wednesday. Shoop led the Panthers to a 42-14 overall record (21-3 Big South) and the top seed in the 2004 Big South Baseball Tournament. Costanzo’s 20 home runs and 71 RBI were tops in the League. The sophomore from Springfield, Pa. also claimed first team All-League honors at designated hitter.

UNC Asheville’s David A. Williams was named the League’s Freshman of the Year, while Winthrop’s Jeff Reeves earned Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Williams, who was also tabbed a second team All-Conference selection, struck out 70 batters in 77.2 innings pitched. Reeves, a Presidential scholar at Winthrop from 1999-2003, is pursuing his Master’s degree in business administration.

The MVP, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and All-Conference teams are chosen by the head baseball coaches and sports information directors at each member institution. The All-Academic Team and Baseball Scholar-Athlete are chosen by the League’s sports information directors.

The 2004 Big South Baseball Championship will conclude this weekend with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Every game of the championships can be viewed via live StatCasts. A real-time display of statistics and play-by-play, the StatCast allows Big South baseball fans to follow each pitch of the 2004 Championship. The live StatCasts will be available at BigSouthSports.com.

2004 Big South All-Conference Baseball Teams

First Team

Outfield
Jared Walker, Birmingham-Southern

Jeremiah Boles, Liberty
Daniel Carte, Winthrop

Designated Hitter
Mike Costanzo, Coastal Carolina

First Base
Mark Fleisher, Radford

Second Base
David R. Williams, UNC Asheville

Shortstop
Matt Repec, Winthrop

Third Base
David Scoggin, Winthrop

Catcher
Ryan Griffith, Birmingham-Southern

Pitcher
Wes Letson, Birmingham-Southern
R.J. Swindle, Charleston Southern
Steven Carter, Coastal Carolina

Second Team

Outfield
Jordan Haar, Charleston Southern
Matt Bogue, Birmingham-Southern
Jacob Dempsey, Winthrop

Designated Hitter
Steve Sherman, UNC Asheville

First Base
Connor Robertson, Birmingham-Southern

Second Base
Alan Ashworth, Radford

Shortstop
Brett Grandstrand, Coastal Carolina

Third Base
Carlos Garcia, Liberty

Catcher
Chad Oxendine, Coastal Carolina

Pitcher
Jon Wilson, Winthrop
Kevin Slowey, Winthrop
David A. Williams, UNC Asheville

Freshman of the Year
David A. Williams, UNC Asheville

Most Valuable Player
Mike Costanzo, Coastal Carolina

Coach of the Year
Brian Shoop, Birmingham-Southern