Baseball Reveals 2018 Awards
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—On the first day of play at The Sun Conference Baseball Tournament, the league announced its annual award winners during an on-field ceremony.
Regular season champion St. Thomas led the way with seven First-Team selections, highlighted by 2018 Player of the Year Nelson Mompierre. The junior from Miami posted a conference-best .431 batting average, recording 72 hits, 15 home runs, 23 doubles, and 74 RBIs.
Joining Mompierre were pitcher Orlando Rodriguez, catcher Elih Marrero, first baseman Chris Garabedian, second baseman Jackie Urbaez, shortstop Erick Delgado, and pitcher Erne Valdes.
STU head coach Jorge Perez was selected as Coach of the Year for guiding the Bobcats to a 22-2 record in the conference, and a program-record 49 regular season wins.
Runner-up Southeastern placed five on the first team, including junior pitcher Jonathan Bermudez, who was named Pitcher of the Year. The native of Coamo, Puerto Rico currently leads the NAIA in wins (12), opponent batting average (.153), and hits allowed per nine (4.78). In 79 innings, Bermudez has recorded 120 strikeouts. Fellow pitcher Jordan Scott, along with outfielders Dan Valerio and Marvin Malone, along with designated hitter Ivan Nunez joined Bermudez with first team honors.
Florida Memorial’s Axel Gomez was named Freshman of the Year, posting a .352 batting average in 41 games, helping the Lions to a third place finish in the league standings. Gomez holds a .406 on base percentage and a .426 slugging percentage.
Warner’s Jesse Alker was named the Champion of Character Award recipient for his work off the field. Alker serves as the lead vocalist in the Warner University Chapel Praise Band, and volunteers his time with Inroads College Ministry, which serves students from Warner, Webber International, and Polk State. Additionally, he is an assistant youth minster at Christ Community Church in Winter Haven.
A total of 28 players conference-wide received the distinction of Academic All-Conference. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have two semesters complete at their institution, and hold a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. USCB led the way with six selections to the academic team.
2018 Sun Conference Baseball Awards
Player of the Year: Nelson Mompierre, St. Thomas
Pitcher of the Year: Jonathan Bermudez, Southeastern
Freshman of the Year: Axel Gomez, Florida Memorial
Coach of the Year: Jorge Perez, St. Thomas
Champion of Character: Jesse Alker, Warner
First Team All-Sun Conference
SP- Jonathan Bermudez, Southeastern
SP- Orlando Rodriguez, St. Thomas
SP- Zak Spivy, Webber International
SP- Jordan Scott, Southeastern
C- Elih Marrero, St. Thomas
C- Rico Soto, Ave Maria
1B- Chris Garabedian, St. Thomas
2B- Jackie Urbaez, St. Thomas
SS- Erick Delgado, St. Thomas
3B- Chris Medina, Webber International
OF- Nelson Mompierre, St. Thomas
OF- Dan Valerio, Southeastern
OF- Marvin Malone, Southeastern
OF- Marco Rivera, Keiser
DH- Ivan Nunez, Southeastern
UTL- Nick Bottari, Southeastern
RP- Erne Valdes, St. Thomas
Second Team All-Sun Conference
SP- Ian Exposito, St. Thomas
SP- Daniel Williams, Thomas
SP- Victor Hughes, Keiser
SP- Chris Rodriguez, St. Thomas
C- Gavin Murphy, Thomas
C- Mick Tinny, Warner
1B – Peter Crocitto, Keiser
2B- Taylor Westbrook, Thomas
SS- Chase Hinson, Thomas
3B- C.J. Fitzpatrick, Keiser
OF- Sergio Lopez, St. Thomas
OF- Jalbert Melo, Thomas
OF- Carlos Lopez, Keiser
OF- Manuel Mesa, Southeastern
DH- Marcus Begg, Webber International
UTL- Dominic Anagnos, Southeastern
RP- Eddie Jimenez, Southeastern
Academic All-Conference
| Christopher Wydler |
Ave Maria |
| Mark Martinez |
Webber International |
| Emillio Marrufo |
Florida Memorial |
| Christian Rivera-Renovales |
Florida Memorial |
| Robert Meija |
Florida Memorial |
| Tivon Faneyte |
Keiser |
| Carlos Lopez |
Keiser |
| Shane Olive |
Keiser |
| Kasey Gast |
Southeastern |
| Chris Allende |
St. Thomas |
| Juan Martinez |
St. Thomas |
| Jose Pupo |
St. Thomas |
| Ruben Ramos |
St. Thomas |
| Chris Rodriguez |
St. Thomas |
| Dominic Berlin |
Thomas |
| Colin Kirkland |
Thomas |
| Taylor Westbrook |
Thomas |
| Brent Summers |
Thomas |
| Trent Miller |
Thomas |
| Nick Constan |
USCB |
| Daniel Wagner |
USCB |
| Charlie McGinnis |
USCB |
| Ryan Reynolds |
USCB |
| Noah Matthews |
USCB |
| Michael Grunder |
USCB |
| Jesse Alker |
Warner |
| Tyler Bench |
Warner |
| Cameron Cooper |
Warner |