May 24, 2004
ARLINGTON, Texas - The University of Texas at Arlington outfielder Hunter Pence has been named the 2004 Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year, the league announced Monday. Pence is joined on the first team by Michael Gardner and Darrell Preston, while Mike Snapp earned second team honors and Kasey Baker was named to the third team.
Pence, a 6-4, 215 pound junior outfielder from Arlington, becomes the second player in as many years to earn this distinction in as many years as Ryan Roberts garnered the same honors in 2003. Despite missing 14 games this season with injury, Pence hit .406 with eight doubles, five triples and seven homeruns, while driving in 33 and scoring 44 runs of his own. He was second on the team with 73 hits and leads the team with a .622 slugging percentage, .447 on-base percentage and 10 stolen bases. Pence also becomes the first player since Daniel Ortmeier in 2001-02 to earn first team all-conference in back-to-back seasons.
Pence is just the third Mavs player to be named the Player of the Year joining Roberts in 2003 and Clay Gould in 1993. He is also just the third player to be named hitter of the year with Roberts in 2003 and Trey Hillman in 1985.
Gardner, a 5-10, 170 pound sophomore right-handed pitcher from Arlington, compiled an overall record of 11-3 and owns a 2.06 ERA. He has allowed 31 runs, 23 earned, on 76 hits in 100.2 innings of work with opponents hitting just .207. He became the first Maverick pitcher to eclipse 100 innings pitched since Pierce Loveless in 2001. Earlier this season, Gardner nearly set the school-record for strikeouts in a game when he fanned 14 Dallas Baptist hitters.
Preston, a 6-2, 210 pound senior designated hitter from Mt. Vernon, owns just about every offensive record at UTA. He is the school's all-time leader in hits (264), RBIs (163), games played (227) and at-bats (842). He is also just four doubles shy of the school and SLC record. This season, Preston is hitting .368 with 14 doubles, three homeruns and 30 RBIs.
Snapp, a 6-6, 205 pound senior right-hander from Joshua, is the school and SLC leader in appearances and saves. This season, Snapp is 5-3 with a 1.35 ERA and 11 saves. He is currently fifth on the NCAA all-time list for career appearances with 129.
Baker, a 5-11, 180 pound junior outfielder from Houston, is hitting .354 with 19 doubles, two triples, five homeruns and 33 RBIs. He leads the team with 81 hits, 50 runs scored and 112 total bases. His 19 doubles leave him three shy of the school record of 22 that he set last season.
First baseman Ryan Nelson, shortstop Aaron Batlle and outfielder Paul Bruder were all named honorable mention all-SLC.
The Mavericks finished the regular season 31-24 and 14-13 in the SLC. UTA is the number four seed in the SLC Tournament which begins May 26 in Hammond, La. The Mavs will face Texas State in the first round at 7 p.m. at Alumni Field.
2004 ALL-SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE BASEBALL TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
1B Ben Jones Louisiana-Monroe Jr. Marion, La.
2B Brandon Morgan Northwestern State So. Fort Worth, Texas
3B Tigger Lyles Northwestern State Sr. Plain Dealing, La.
SS Ryan Crew Texas-San Antonio So. Sugarland, Texas
C Andrew Kasparek Sam Houston State Sr. Weimar, Texas
OF Hunter Pence Texas-Arlington Jr. Arlington, Texas
OF Evan Tierce Texas State Sr. Keller, Texas
OF Josh Boop Northwestern State Sr. Benbrook, Texas
DH Darrell Preston Texas-Arlington Sr. Mt. Vernon, Texas
P Kyle Stutes Lamar Sr. Port Neches, Texas
P Clayton Turner Northwestern State Jr. Taylor, Texas
P Michael Gardner Texas-Arlington So. Arlington, Texas
SECOND TEAM
1B Mark Cooper Texas State Sr. Texas City, Texas
2B Jeremy Gray Lamar Jr. Orange, Texas
3B Kyle Anson Texas State Jr. Horizon City, Texas
SS Dominic Ramos Texas State Jr. Pflugerville, Texas
C David Tano Nicholls State Sr. Miami, Fla.
OF Jordan Foster Lamar Sr. Arlington, Texas
OF Justin LaBorde Louisiana-Monroe So. West Monroe, La.
OF Matt Miller Texas State Jr. LaGrange, Texas
DH John Allen Lamar Sr. Garland, Texas
P Tom Robbins Texas State Sr. Georgetown, Texas
P Derrick Gordon Lamar Fr. Beaumont, Texas
P Michael Snapp Texas-Arlington Sr. Joshua, Texas
THIRD TEAM
1B Ryan Finan Lamar Sr. Topeka, Kan.
2B Ty Rollinson Louisiana-Monroe Fr. Oak Grove, La.
3B Adrian Cantu Lamar Jr. San Antonio, Texas
SS Anthony Hatch Nicholls State Jr. Scottsdale, Ariz.
C Jay Aulds Louisiana-Monroe Sr. West Monroe, La.
OF Bubba Bell Nicholls State Jr. Paris, Texas
OF Kasey Baker Texas-Arlington Sr. Houston, Texas
OF Richard Martinez Texas State Sr. Grand Prairie, Texas
DH Lucas Stewart Texas-San Antonio Sr. Santa Fe, Texas
P William Delage Lamar So. Nederland, Texas
P Rusty Begnaud McNeese State Sr. New Iberia, La.
P Klae Boehme Texas-San Antonio Sr. Lytle, Texas
HONORABLE MENTION: 1B-Ryan Nelson, UTA; Jonathan Stone, SHSU. 2B-Nolan Mast, TXST. 3B-Josh Fontenot,McN. SS-Aaron Battle, UTA; Jeremy Holzbach, SHSU. C-David Bednarek, TXST. OF-Paul Bruder, UTA; Rocky Craigen,LU; Glenn Jackson, ULM; Rusty Jones, NWLa.; Charlie Kingrey, McN. DH-Bobby Barbier, NWLa. P-Zach Adkisson,SHSU; Mike Breaux, NWLa.; Dustin Craig, SHSU; Robbie Hebert, NICH; Chad Pendarvis, SLU; Jon Hunton, LU.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Hunter Pence, Texas-Arlington
HITTER OF THE YEAR: Hunter Pence, Texas-Arlington
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Kyle Stutes, Lamar
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Matt Miller, Texas State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Derrick Gordon, Lamar
CLAY GOULD COACH OF THE YEAR: Jim Gilligan, Lamar
