Four High Point University baseball players were honored by the Big South at the conference's Baseball Awards Banquet on Monday evening including sophomore Spencer Angelis who was named first-team All Big-South. Seniors Ryan Retz and Jacob Newberry were named second-team All-Conference and sophomore Will Resnik was named to the All-Academic team.
“I am very proud of all four of our players that have been recognized by the conference,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “The ballclub had an outstanding season this year and the individual efforts of these four individuals was a big part of our success.”
Angelis started 45 games for High Point during the 2013 regular season and finished with a .326 batting average, tops among conference first basemen. Angelis finished ninth in the Big South in conference batting average, hitting .348 in 24 Big South contests. The sophomore has 14 extra base hits this season including 13 doubles which is second on the team. He also has 26 RBI and 27 runs scored and is second on the team with 21 walks. Angelis has been a strong defender both at first and behind the plate for High Point, posting a .983 fielding percentage with just six errors.
“Spencer Angelis has had an outstanding season for us,” Cozart said. “He has played at a consistently high level. His energy that he brings on a daily basis has been vital to this team. I am very proud that his effort has been recognized by other teams and that he was named first-team All-Conference.”
Retz leads High Point in batting average (.350), hits (75), doubles (18), home runs (5), RBI (38) total bases (108) and slugging percentage (.505). The senior is sixth in the Big South in batting average, fourth in hits, tied for second in doubles, tied for ninth in home runs, tied for sixth in RBI, eighth in runs scored and tied for second in total bases. Retz was named Big South Player of the Week on May 19 after hitting .636 to lead High Point to a series sweep at VMI. In addition to his contributions at the plate, Retz has started 11 games for High Point and is 4-4 with a 3.84 ERA. He is one of 11 players in the nation under consideration for the John Olerud Award which is presented to the best two-way player in the country.
“Ryan Retz was a workhorse for us this season,” Cozart said. “His efforts both on the mound and in the field were invaluable. He was a consistent presence for us in the middle of our order. He is a guy that sets a tone for us with what he at the plate. We are very excited that he has been recognized for his fantastic performance this season.”
Newberry started 13 games as High Point's Friday night starter and is 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA. He has pitched 84-2/3 innings and struck out 74 batters. He leads all HPU starters in innings pitched, ERA and strikeouts. Newberry is sixth in the Big South in strikeouts, seventh in ERA and tied for eighth in innings pitched. The senior allowed three or less earned runs in 10 of his 13 starts including two games in which he did not allow a single run. Newberry allowed three runs on eight hits in an eight-inning complete game at Tulane. He also struck out a career-high 10 batters over eight innings in a 6-2 win over CCSU.
“Jacob Newberry is definitely deserving of his All-Conference honor,” Cozart said. “He has been a true Friday night guy for us this season. He gave us an outstanding start in the first game of every series and got us off on the right foot. I am proud of Jacob and this honor he has received.”
Resnik is carrying a 3.8 GPA while majoring in Political Science. He has made 13 appearances for High Point out of the bullpen and has a 4.35 ERA. Resnik has pitched 10-1/3 innings and allowed just 11 hits while striking out six.
“Will Resnik is a tremendous student-athlete who performs well both on the field and in the classroom,” Cozart said. “He is a focused young man who knows what he wants to do with his life and takes his class work very serious. We are proud of his efforts both as a student and as a ball player.”
The three All-Conference honorees matches a program high for HPU and is the most since 2010 when Nate Roberts and Matt Gantner were named to the first team and Jaime Schultz was named to the second team.
High Point has earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big South Baseball Championship and will face No. 6 Gardner-Webb in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, May 21, in Lynchburg, Va., The game is the second of the morning session and will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the game between No. 2 Coastal Carolina and No. 7 Longwood which will begin at 9:30 a.m.
2013 Big South Conference Baseball Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
OF: Rob Dickinson, VMI
OF: Bobby Ison, Charleston Southern
OF: Ben McQuown, Campbell
1B: Spencer Angelis, High Point
2B: Michael Felton, Campbell
3B: Elijah Trail, Campbell (tie)
3B: Alex Owens, Longwood (tie)
SS: Jeff Kemp, Radford
C: Trey Wimmer. Liberty
DH: Zack Hagaman, Charleston Southern
SP: Ryan Mattes, Campbell
SP: Ben Smith, Coastal Carolina
SP: Matt Fraudin, Gardner-Webb
RP: Ryan Thompson, Campbell
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