Anderson, Van Sickler Lead All-Region
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Shenandoah University had six players and one coach honored with All-Region selections in picks announced Tuesday by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Junior Greg Van Sickler and coach Kevin Anderson lead these selections by being named South Region Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.
Van Sickler, who was named as the pre-season national Player of the Year by Baseball America, becomes the first SU baseball player to earn Region Player of the Year honors after winning eight of 10 decisions on the mound and hitting .411 with 27 doubles at the plate.
Van Sickler, a 2010 ESPN The Magazine third team Academic All-America, was previously honored this season as the USA South Conference Pitcher of the Year, first team All-USA South at both pitcher and utility and All-Tournament at both the USA South and Fayetteville Regional.
Anderson has guided his Hornets to 38 wins and a South Regional title in each of the past two seasons. This year, SU has been ranked among the nation's top 25 in both the ABCA and D3baseball.com polls all season long and enters the national championships in the top 10 of both polls.
This is the second straight year that Anderson has been named as the ABCA South Region Coach of the Year.
Junior Kevin Brashears and sophomore Kyle Scallion both join Van Sickler on the first team All-South.
Brashears leads the Hornets with a .429 average and has 81 hits, 72 runs scored and 60 RBI from his leadoff spot. He was a first team All-USA South honoree and the Most Valuable Player of the USA South Conference Tournament.
In addition to his All-Region selection, Brashears was picked to the ABCA All-Region Gold Glove team. He has a .991 fielding average in 109 chances as a centerfielder.
Scallion, in his first season as the team's closer, is 4-0 with eight saves and a 2.52 ERA in 39 1/3 innings pitched. Scallion had two saves in the USA South Conference Tournament, one in the Fayetteville Regional and recorded the final out of both tournaments via strikeout.
Senior Scott Van Dusseldorp, the 2010 USA South Conference Player of the Year, continues his strong final campaign by earning second team All-Region honors. Van Dusseldorp is currently hitting .374 with 13 HR and a team-high 63 runs batted in. In addition to his league PoY honors, he was named to the Fayetteville Regional All-Tournament team.
The final two selections come to the third team, where seniors Jesse Henry and Jake Yocum were picked at shortstop and pitcher, respectively.
Henry, the Fayetteville Regional Most Outstanding Player, is hitting .399 this season with 14 extra base hits and 49 RBI in 198 at-bats. This is his second straight All-Region honor and comes on the heels of being named to the USA South All-Tournament team in addition to the Fayetteville MOP accolade.
Yocum, with a 6-0 record and 3.44 ERA in 6 2/3 innings pitched, rounds out the squad. The senior won two games in the USA South Conference Tournament, including the championship game against Christopher Newport on just two days rest.
The ABCA All-America team will be announced Thursday evening as part of the national championship banquet.
