2012 Sun Conference All-Star Game Set for Saturday
BABSON PARK, Fla. - The 2012 Sun Conference baseball season will have it's unofficial start this Saturday as 50 of the best players in the conference will converge on Babson Park, Fla. for the annual league All-Star game. All 10 baseball-sponsoring league schools will have representatives at the game, a showcase for scouts and fans alike to get a look at one of the premier baseball conferences in the NAIA.
The conference will be split into the North and South teams for the event, with each team carrying 25 players on their rosters. The North team will consist of players from Embry-Riddle, SCAD Savannah, Southeastern, USC Beaufort and Warner, while the South will be made up of Ave Maria, Florida Memorial, Northwood, St. Thomas and Webber International. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Fans can listen live to the game via GameCentral found HERE. Covering the game will be former Embry-Riddle players, Cory Davids and Austin Quinn. Quinn, the 2010 Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year, earned first team All-America honors in his senior season.
Last season, the south came away with an 11-6 victory after the two teams finished the 2010 game in a 5-5 tie.
Embry-Riddle captured their fourth consecutive and 12th overall league regular season title in 2011, ending the season with a 24-3 conference record, the best mark in conference history. The Eagles also claimed the 2011 conference tournament crown before advancing to the Avista-NAIA World Series where they finished fifth.
SCAD Savannah, Southeastern and St. Thomas tied for second place in the conference last season, with STU earning the league's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round with their runner-up finish at the conference tournament.
The 2012 Sun Conference Tournament will once again take play at City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers, Fla. The six-team tournament will take place May 1-5 and will be a double-elimination formatted event.
The regular season begins the last week of January, with the first conference games slated for the first weekend in February.
North Team
P - Phillip Kish (Sr., Southeastern)^
P - Grant Porter (Jr., Southeastern)
P - Adam Miller (Sr., USCB)#
P - Michael Heesch (Sr., USCB)
P - Adam Paulencu (Jr., ERAU)
P - Aaron Kehres (Jr., WU)
P - Jake Petit (So., WU)*
C/3B - Jamison Sweat (Jr., SCAD)^
C - Herb Sickler (Sr., WU)*
1B/3B - Matt Zajac (Sr., SCAD)&
1B - Chris Page (Sr., ERAU)*
2B - Gabe Torres (Sr., USCB)
2B/SS - Taylor Mathis (Sr., WIU)
SS - Hunter Pope (Sr., SCAD)*
SS - Ben Kline (Sr., ERAU)*
3B - David O'Neil (Sr., USCB)^&
3B - Billy Glessner (Sr., SEU)
OF - Frankie Arias (Sr., ERAU)
OF - Shane Casey (Sr., SEU)*
OF - Daniel Mims (Sr., SEU)
OF - Ethan Lovell (Sr., WU)
OF - Mark Malec (Jr., SCAD)
OF - Will Cioffi (Jr., SCAD)
OF - Brandon Kirby (Jr., WU)
OF - Ty Main (Jr., USCB)*
* 2011 First Team All-Conference selection
^ 2011 Second Team All-Conference selection
# 2010 First Team All-Conference selection
& 2010 Second Team All-Conference selection
South Team
P - Justin James (Sr., AMU)
P - David Colon (Jr., FMU)
P - Dane Stone (Jr., STU)
P - JD Tyler (Jr., NU)
P - Chaz Abein (Sr., WIU)
P - Ricky Claudio (Jr., STU)^
C/1B - Alejandro Diaz (Jr., FMU)
C - Gabe Loweree (Jr., AMU)
1B - Shane McIntyre (Sr., WIU)^
1B/C - JC Gill (Sr., FMU)
2B - Kevin Sides (Sr., NU)
2B - Travis Noland (Sr., WIU)
SS/2B - Luis Jimenez (Jr., STU)
SS - Rudy Ruiz (Sr., FMU)#
SS - Kevin Johnson (Sr., NU)
SS - Alex Sanchez (Jr., AMU)
3B - Elio Rey (Sr., STU)
3B - Ryan Osenton (Sr., NU)^
3B - Trace McDermott (Jr., AMU)
OF - Erick Yglesias (Jr., FMU)
OF - Hunter Ovens (Sr., WIU)*
OF - Hector Acosta (Jr., STU)
OF - Joel Capote (Sr. STU)
OF - Patrick Collins-Bride (Sr., AMU)
OF - Keneth Rivero (Sr., NU)
* 2011 First Team All-Conference selection
^ 2011 Second Team All-Conference selection
# 2010 First Team All-Conference selection
& 2010 Second Team All-Conference selection