Concord's Garrett, Neff headline All-MEC selections

May 10—BRIDGEPORT — Concord University head baseball coach Kevin Garrett and junior pitcher Andrew Neff headlined the All-Mountain East Conference selections for the Concord University baseball team with the release of the all-conference teams Tuesday afternoon.

Garrett was named the MEC Coach of the Year while Neff was the MEC Pitcher of the Year. Neff was joined on the first team by graduate outfielder Josh Adkins, junior outfielder D.J. Christian Jr., junior infielder Zack Saryeldin (third base) and junior infielder Chris Satcher (designated hitter).

Five more Mountain Lions were selected to either the All-MEC Second Team or All-MEC Honorable Mention. Junior infielder Daniel Layne (second base) and sophomore utility MJ Hunter made the second team. Sophomore infielder Brendan Brady (shortstop) and junior pitcher Eddie Blake and sophomore pitcher Rylee Nicholas were pegged All-MEC Honorable Mention.

Garrett, now a four-time winner of conference coach of the year, but the first in the MEC, led the Mountain Lions to a 23-7 record in conference games this season. He assumed the head coaching duties prior to the start of MEC play on an interim basis—March 13. The Mountain Lions recovered from a 4-11 start and went 23-8 under Garrett. CU secured second place in the MEC South Division and qualified for their 25th straight conference tournament under Garrett's leadership. Included in the 23 conference wins for the Maroon and Gray was winning 17 of the first 18 games—the best start in program history to a conference season. Concord sported a .327 batting average in 30 MEC games. Garrett's other coach of the year honors came in 2001, 2003, 2008.

Neff, a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, is the first conference pitcher of the year for the Mountain Lions since Brock Harsh in 2004. Neff posted an 11-2 record over 79.2 innings. He sported an ERA of 4.74 while recording a single-season program record 86 strikeouts as well as tops in the MEC. Neff's 11 wins are also a single-season program record. The right-hander is just the fifth pitcher in the history of the MEC to record 11 or more wins in a single season. Among the highlights for Neff was limiting MEC North Champion Frostburg State to two runs in seven innings while striking out six. He posted back-to-back outings of six strikeouts versus Notre Dame and Wheeling. In non-conference action, Neff notched 10 strikeouts versus UVa.-Wise.

In his final season, Adkins enjoyed a career year as he posted career highs in average (.390), extra-base hits (20) and RBI (32). The Nitro, West Virginia native ended the regular season third in the conference in batting average and was sixth in slugging percentage (.662). Adkins led the Mountain Lions in home runs (eight) as Concord's everyday center fielder. He also stole eight bases in nine tries. Adkins went through a stretch in late February and early March where he recorded at least one RBI in nine of 12 games. He also had a multi-home run game versus Wheeling on April 1.

Christian got off to a scorching start to the season and continued to rack up the hits throughout the spring as he starts the MEC Tournament in a tie for fifth in the conference in batting average (.385). His three triples for the season are tied for second in the MEC. Over his first 20 games, the West Palm Beach, Florida native tallied seven multi-hit games. Christian was one of three Concord players with 50 or more hits for the season, and in his first 52 career games at CU only collected 35 hits.

A repeat first team selection, Saryeldin saved his best work of the spring for the 30-game MEC slate. Overall, the Weston, Florida hit .338 with four home runs, 32 RBI and 19 doubles. However, Saryeldin was a tough out in conference play as he elevated his average to .393 with 15 of his doubles coming against conference foes while driving in 30 runs. Saryeldin's 19 doubles are second most in the MEC while his batting average is top 15 in the league. Among the highlights for Saryeldin was driving in six runs in a 13-10 win over West Liberty April 2.

A mainstay in the heart of the CU order, Satcher was named All-MEC First Team as a designated hitter after picking up All-MEC Honorable Mention at first base last season. Satcher hit .287, but his important work came by driving in runs as he posted 38 RBI, 11th in the league. The West Palm Beach, Florida native also recorded 11 doubles and seven home runs. Satcher had three straight games of at least three RBI in early April versus Davis & Elkins and West Virginia Wesleyan.

Layne was Concord's everyday second baseman for the first 39 games of the season before being hampered by injury late in the year. Layne's .333 batting average was fourth best for the Mountain Lions, and ranked inside the top 20 in the MEC. Layne belted three home runs and drove in 22 runs while adding 10 doubles. The Dobson, North Carolina native was the only CU player with multiple four-hit games this season, doing so against Bluefield State (February 22) and Davis & Elkins (April 8).

As the year grew older, Hunter became more and more versatile for Concord as he played five different spots in the field—second base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field. Hunter also pitched 28.1 innings, striking out 19. At the plate, he batted .291with 13 extra-base hits and 24 RBI. The Christiansburg, Virginia native tallied 22 of his 24 RBI in conference play and hit .304 in 30 MEC games.

Brady made 44 starts at shortstop for the Mountain Lions in the regular season as he hit .286 with 24 RBI. Taking over for gold glove shortstop Anthony Stehlin, Brady fielded .955 and was in the middle of 17 double plays. The Sunrise, Florida native made just seven errors in more than 150 chances at shortstop, meaning over the last two years starting shortstops for Concord have only committed nine errors in 332 chances.

Blake had the best staff ERA among qualified pitchers at 4.52 in 71.2 innings. He collected 65 strikeouts while winning five games on the mound. Blake started the conference portion of the schedule strong by allowing just four earned runs over his first 30.1 innings.

To conclude the stretch, Blake fired six shutout innings versus West Liberty while tying his career high with 10 strikeouts. The Moneta, Virginia native had seven outings of at least five strikeouts as he finished the regular season fifth in the MEC in punchouts.

All six wins for Nicholas came in conference play as he finished 6-5 on the mound with 58 strikeouts in 60.1 innings. In conference action, Nicholas had an ERA of 3.72 which was nearly two points lower than his overall of 5.52. Five of the eight appearances for Nicholas during the conference season yielded two runs or fewer, including six shutout innings versus Davis & Elkins. Nicholas concluded the season with a career-best 10 strikeouts at Glenville State, moving him up to 10th in the MEC.

The five All-MEC First Team selections were tied for the most with Frostburg State. CU's ten selections were the most, three more than both Charleston and Frostburg State.

Concord opens up the MEC Tournament 11 a.m. Thursday versus Wheeling in Charleston.