Sean Bierman Named South Region Pitcher of the Year as Five Spartans Honored

BOCA RATON, Fla. - A total of 30 student-athletes have been named to the 2012 Daktronics Baseball all-South Region first and second Teams, as announced Thursday. The University of Tampa's Sean Bierman earned Pitcher of the Year recognition.

Lynn University's Anthony Boza was honored as the Player of the Year. Bierman was joined on the first-team by teammates Zach Gawrych, Andrew Jones and Ben O'Shea. Damon Elder also found a spot on the second team.

In total, 12 different schools have representatives on the south region team. The Sunshine State Conference led the way with eight first team selections and 16 overall. Gulf South Conference schools recorded five first team honorees and 12 overall while the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference notched two first team spots. Each first team member is now eligible for Daktronics All-America considerations.

In his final season at Tampa, Bierman posted an 8-2 record with a 1.93 ERA and was also named the SSC Pitcher of the Year. His earned run average ranked second among SSC pitchers, and his eight wins tied for most in the conference. Bierman struck out 82 batters while walking only 10, ranking third in the SSC in both of those categories. He limited UT's opponents to a .227 opposing batting average, fifth best among league hurlers.

Joining Boza (DH) and Bierman (SP) on the south region first team squad were: C Joe Carnahan (Delta State), 1B David Weber (Benedict), 2B Carlos Asuaje (Nova Southeastern), SS Grant DeBruin (Alabama-Huntsville), 3B Mike Snyder (Florida Southern), UT Michael Jordan (Benedict), OF Areo Regoli (Nova Southeastern), OF Zach Gawrych (Tampa), OF Andrew Jones (Tampa), SP Chad Boughner (North Alabama), Colton Mitchell (Delta State), Ben O'Shea (Tampa) and RP Bobby Parker (West Florida).

The second team squad team consisted of: C Justin Riddle (Alabama-Huntsville), 1B Ryan McChesney (Florida Tech), 2B Michael Schmidt (North Alabama), SS KC Clabough (Florida Tech), 3B Damon Elder (Tampa), UT Cory Jensen (Florida Southern), DH Christian Glisson (Valdosta State), OF Ty Chancelor (Alabama-Huntsville), OF Cameron Graves (Valdosta State), Jordan Chovanec (Delta State), SP Shawn Kale (Lynn), SP Zachary Westcott (Nova Southeastern), SP Joey Cuda (Eckerd), SP Aaron Newcomb (Delta State) and RP James Mannara (Florida Tech).

The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. Voting is done by NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).

2012 Daktronics All-South Region Teams
First Team
Joe Carnahan, Delta State, C
David Weber, Benedict, 1B
Carlos Asuaje, Nova Southeastern, 2B
Grant DeBruin, Alabama-Huntsville, SS
Mike Snyder, Florida Southern, 3B
Areo Regoli, Nova Southeastern, OF
Zach Gawrych, Tampa, OF
Andrew Jones, Tampa, OF
Anthony Boza, Lynn, DH
Michael Jordan, Benedict, UT
Chad Boughner, North Alabama, SP
Sean Bierman, Tampa, SP
Colton Mitchell, Delta State, SP
Ben O'Shea, Tampa, SP
Bobby Parker, West Florida, RP

Player of the Year: Anthony Boza, Lynn, DH
Pitcher of the Year: Sean Bierman, Tampa, SP

Second Team
Justin Riddle, Alabama-Huntsville, C
Ryan McChesney, Florida Tech, 1B
Michael Schmidt, North Alabama, 2B
KC Clabough, Florida Tech, SS
Damon Elder, Tampa, 3B
Ty Chancelor, Alabama-Huntsville, OF
Cameron Graves, Valdosta State, OF
Jordan Chovanec, Delta State, OF
Christian Glisson, Valdosta State, DH
Cory Jensen, Florida Southern, UT
Shawn Kale, Lynn, SP
Zachary Westcott, Nova Southeastern, SP
Joey Cuda, Eckerd, SP
Aaron Newcomb, Delta State, SP
James Mannara, Florida Tech, RP