IRVING, Texas (ODU Media Relations) – Jared Young and Zach Rutherford both earned specialty awards and a total of six Monarchs earned All-Conference USA honors, the league office announced on Tuesday.
ODU shortstop Zach Rutherford
Young, a juco transfer from Connors State Community College in Oklahoma, was named the Newcomer of the Year, while Rutherford was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
Rutherford, Young and Adam Bainbridge were all named to the all-conference first team, while the freshman trio of Kyle Battle, Vinnie Pasquantino and John Wilson all landed on the all-freshman team.
Rutherford, a shortstop from Chesapeake, was named the Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to landing on the all-conference first team. Rutherford has committed just four errors this season, while leading the league in assists with 191, 30 more than any other player in the conference. Rutherford’s current fielding percentage of .985 would be a single-season school record for shortstops. At the plate, Rutherford is hitting .345 with 25 doubles, two home runs and 55 RBIs. His 25 doubles lead the conference and rank third in the nation, while the 55 RBIs are second in C-USA.
ODU’s Jared Young
Young, a second baseman from Prince George, Canada, earned both Newcomer of the Year and first team all-conference honors, following a breakthrough season in his first year at ODU. A juco transfer from Connors State Community College, Young leads the Monarchs with a .376 average, seven home runs and an OPS of 1.037. Young, who was also named to the C-USA All-Academic Team yesterday, hit a league-leading .433 in conference games, 20 points higher than any other player.
ODU pitcher Adam Bainbridge
Bainbridge, a left-handed pitcher from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, is 7-3 with a 3.46 ERA on the year. The Saturday starter, Bainbridge leads the conference in innings pitched with 91.0 and has struck out a team-high 67, while walking only 19. Bainbridge is one of just four pitchers in C-USA who have thrown two complete games and also tossed a four-hit shutout against Charlotte, the first by a Monarch pitcher since 2013.
Battle, Pasquantino and Wilson marked three of the 11 selections on the all-freshman team. Battle, an outfielder from Glen Allen, is hitting .335, which ranks third on the team, with 35 RBIs and six stolen bases. Pasquantino, a first baseman from Moseley, is hitting .324 to go along with five home runs and 35 RBIs, which both rank third on ODU. Wilson, a starting pitcher from Pittstown, New Jersey, is 6-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 12 starts. Opponents are hitting just .213 off of Wilson, who has been the starting pitcher in two combined shutouts this season.
For more information on the Conference USA Baseball awards, visit ConferenceUSA.com. In addition, a full list of honorees can be found below.
2017 CONFERENCE USA BASEBALL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dylan Burdeaux, Sr., 1B, Southern Miss
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Nate Harris, Sr., RHP, Louisiana Tech
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Matt Wallner, Fr., OF, Southern Miss
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Jared Young, Jr., 2B, Old Dominion
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Zach Rutherford, Jr., SS, Old Dominion
KEITH LeCLAIR COACH OF THE YEAR
Scott Berry, Southern Miss
ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Chad Caillet, Southern Miss
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Dylan Burdeaux, Sr., Southern Miss
IF Tyler Frank, Sr., Florida Atlantic
IF Zach Rutherford, Jr., Old Dominion
IF Jared Young, Jr., Old Dominion
OF T.J. Nichting, Sr., Charlotte
OF Raphael Gladu, Sr., Louisiana Tech
OF Sam Finfer, Sr., Marshall
C Brent Diaz, Sr., Louisiana Tech
DH Aaron Aucker, Jr., Middle Tennessee
UT Taylor Braley, Jr., Southern Miss
SP Adam Bainbridge, Sr., Old Dominion
SP Nate Harris, Sr., Louisiana Tech
SP Colton Laws, So., Charlotte
SP Kirk McCarty, Sr., Southern Miss
RP Nick Sandlin, So., Southern Miss
RP Colt Smith, Jr., Southern Miss
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Riley Delgado, Sr., Middle Tennessee
IF JC Escarra, Jr., FIU
IF Chase Lunceford, Sr., Louisiana Tech
IF Brett Netzer, Jr., Charlotte
IF Jordan Washam, Sr., Louisiana Tech
OF Brewer Hicklen, So., UAB
OF Mason Irby, Jr., Southern Miss
OF Matt Wallner, Fr., Southern Miss
C Dominic DiCaprio, So., Rice
DH Jared Shouppe, Sr., Florida Atlantic
UT Dane Myers, Jr., Rice
SP Zach Flanagan, Charlotte
SP Tyler Giovanoni, UTSA
SP Thomas Lowery, UAB
SP Wade Martin, Marshall
RP Karl Craigie, Sr., UTSA
RP Cameron Ragsdale, Sr., Florida Atlantic
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Old Dominion
OF Eric Rivera, Florida Atlantic
OF Kyle Battle, Old Dominion
OF Matt Wallner, Southern Miss
C Zack Smith, Charlotte
P Matt Brooks, Charlotte
P Nick MacDonald, FIU
P Tyler Myrick, FIU
P Kyle Griffen, Louisiana Tech
P John Wilson, Old Dominion
P Matt Canterino, Rice
