Spartan Baseball Wraps Up a Successful Season and Sees Some of Its Own Receiving All Region Honors…To Include The Region 2-AAAAAAA Player of the Year

2 May 2019 by Coach Searcy

The Campbell Spartan Baseball Program started out the year in a very untraditional and rather unenviable manner as field and backstop construction at Ward Park in January displaced the Royal and Silver from its home field to various locations, to include a the parking lot of a local industrial park where they literally had to avoid trucks from Two Men and a Truck. Yet, the team comprised predominantly of underclassmen, no seniors on the 2018-2019 squad, earned a bid to the GHSA State Playoffs for the second consecutive year and finished 3rd in Region 2-7A, the highest finish for a Campbell Baseball Program in 20 years. “I could not be more proud of this team,” said Head Coach Jeff Searcy. “Their grit, determination, work ethic, and commitment to the program and to each other is reflective of the continuous upward trajectory we’ve seen from this program over the past two years.”

On the question of such a young team, comprised of 68% freshmen and sophomores, Coach Searcy touts his youngsters and sees nothing but positives for the future. “I am incredibly optimistic about the future of this program. Why wouldn’t I be? On any given day this season, six of the starting nine Varsity players were underclassmen, two being freshmen. Most of my juniors this year have 3 years of experience on the Varsity field. That leadership and experience paid tremendous dividends this season and will return even more next year. With regards to my younger guys, they’ve shown all season that no stage is too big for them. That’s huge. I also have talented middle school student athletes headed our way that will give us the opportunity to build depth in our program for years to come. This is a great place to be.”

Despite the season being over for the Spartans, the program continued its successful 2019 campaign with the news it received on Tuesday (4/30) with regards to 2019 All Region Player Honors. Nominations were submitted by the head coaches in the region and voted on by the same. One player at each IF position, three OF, and five pitchers were selected. When the ballots were counted and results shared, Spartan Baseball was well represented. Junior Catcher Dominic Rutigliano and Sophomore Pitcher Andrew Herrmann (LHP) received 2nd Team All Region Honors. And, Sophomore Michael Braswell (RHP) received First Team All-Region Honors as a Pitcher. He was also named 2019 Region 2AAAAAAA PLAYER OF THE YEAR. This is the first time a Campbell Spartan Baseball Player has ever been named Region POTY. “Michael had a tremendous season, as did Dominic and Andrew. The honors and accolades are well deserved” said Coach Searcy. The young ball player’s family was also proud of his accomplishments, “We are proud to see Michael’s continued growth as both a baseball player and a young man. We are thankful that his hard work has been acknowledged by the coaches in the region.”

The statistics tell the story. Braswell, this season, finished with a 2.00 ERA, 46 strikeouts and only 12 walks over 35 innings pitched. Defensively as a pitcher and shortstop, his fielding percentage was .880. At the plate, he had a .353 AVG, a .485 on base percentage, 18 hits with 9 of them going for extra bases (5 doubles & 4 Triples), 14 RBI’s and scored 12 runs in 51 at bats. He also stole 4 bases. Andrew Herrmann had an equally impressive season on the mound striking out 64 while walking only 19 over 45 innings pitched, finishing with a 2.29 ERA. Behind the plate, Rutigliano caught a staggering 124 of the 127 innings played by the Spartans this season, handling well over 2,100 pitches thrown and posting a very impressive .981 fielding percentage. He also finished with a .259 batting average, a .343 on base percentage, 15 hits with 6 of those going for extra bases, and 15 RBI’s.

“It was a true team effort this season,” said Searcy. “Yes, we had 3 players receive All-Region honors. Taking nothing away from their accolades as they are well deserved, we had an entire program of accomplishments, solid play, and clutch performances that were critical to this year’s success. I am so proud of all of my guys. Trust me, this will be the team to follow for years to come.”

Congratulations to the 2019 Campbell Spartan Baseball Program. For more information about Spartan Baseball, visit www.campbellspartanbaseball.com.