Coastal Carolina Baseball Has Eight First Team All-Conference Honorees; Earns All-Big South Coach, Pitcher and Scholar-Athlete of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University baseball team had the Big South Pitcher, Coach and Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well as nine players on the All-Conference teams, it was announced at the Big South Tournament May 26 in Rock Hill, S.C.
Sophomore pitcher Anthony Meo (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West) was the unanimous pick as the Pitcher of the Year as well as being named to the All-Big South First Team. Meo is 12-1 with a 1.73 earned-run average for the Chanticleers this season. He has held opponents to a .217 batting average and has 80 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched. Meo is Coastal’s career leader in Division I play in career ERA (2.31) and has 21 career wins as a sophomore. He tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in a win over Radford May 20 and has won his last eight outings. He struck out eight in seven innings in a win over Winthrop May 8 and had nine strikeouts in six innings in a win over VMI April 23. Meo becomes Coastal’s third Pitcher of the Year honoree, joining Bobby Gagg (2007) and Cody Wheeler (2009).
Coastal head coach Gary Gilmore was named the Big South Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career. It also is Gilmore’s fourth straight Coach of the Year honor. Gilmore guided the Chanticleers to a perfect 25-0 Big South record and a 47-7 overall record. He earned his 600th win at Coastal May 20 at Radford and now has 854 overall wins. Coastal Carolina won its fourth straight and 13th overall Big South regular-season championships in 2010.
Fleet, who has a 3.78 grade-point-average in business management, is 5-1 with a 1.99 earned-run average and seven saves in 25 appearances. He is holding opponents to a .228 batting average and has 50 strikeouts in 49.2 innings pitched. Fleet is ninth in Coastal Carolina Division I history with a career 3.40 ERA and is 10th in appearances with 70. Fleet has made three starts on the season, earning a win in the 3-0 victory over Michigan March 14 by striking out six in six innings of work. He did not allow a hit in 4.1 innings of relief in the win over Clemson March 31 and had seven strikeouts in four innings of work in the win over VMI April 25. Fleet graduated with a degree in business management in the Spring of 2009 and currently is taking classes for a second degree in recreation and sport management.
Meo was joined on the All-Big South First Team by starting pitcher Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania), relief pitcher Matt Rein (Houston, Texas/Langham Creek), catcher Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla./St. John’s) second baseman Tommy La Stella (Closter, N.J./St. John’s), shortstop Taylor Motter (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens), third baseman Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) and outfielder Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton). Relief pitcher Ryan Connolly (Charleston, S.C./Bishop England) was named to the Second Team.
Wheeler is 10-0 with a 3.74 ERA and a Big South leading 98 strikeouts in 91.1 innings pitched. He is tied for second in the League in wins and had a complete-game win against Gardner-Webb April 17. Wheeler has had 10 or more strikeouts in a game three times this season, including a career-high 12 against Charleston Southern March 19. Wheeler earned wins over UC Irvine and San Diego, defeating aces Daniel Bibona and Kyle Blair in the wins. He also was the Big South April 5 after striking out 10 in a win over Presbyerian. This is Wheeler’s second straight First Team honor.
Rein is 6-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 20 appearances this season. He has two saves and has combined for three shutouts on the year. He struck out six in four innings of relief, allowing only one hit in the win over VMI April 25. He also earned a win while striking out five in 3.1 innings pitched in a win over High Point April 11. He won his first three appearances, including going six innings in a win over UC Irvine Feb. 27.
Igleisas is hitting .340 with 13 home runs and 68 runs-batted-in as a catcher. He is tied for the Big South lead in RBI and had a season-high five RBI in wins over Michigan and Presbyterian. Iglesias has 14 doubles, a .622 slugging percentage and a .455 on-base percentage. He has hit two home runs in a game three times this season, including a pair in a win over Winthrop May 9. He is one of 12 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation’s best catcher.
La Stella leads the team with a .374 batting average and has added 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 53 RBI’s this season at second base. He is slugging .602 and has a .434 on-base percentage. LaStella hit for the cycle and drove in seven runs in the win over Charleston Southern March 20 and was 4-for-5 April 25 at VMI. He went 3-for-4 with four RBI in the win at Radford May 21. LaStella leads the team with 21 multi-hit games and currently has an 11-game hitting streak.
Motter is hitting .330 with a team-leading 17 doubles, nine home runs and 42 RBI at shortstop this season. He had four hits and drove in five runs in the win at Charleston Southern March 20. He also had two home runs in that wins. Motter drove in five runs and had three hits in a win at Gardner-Webb April 17. He has a .587 slugging percentage and a .419 on-base percentage this season. Motter has 15 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games this season.
Woodward also is hitting .330 with 29 RBI, 40 walks, 48 stolen bases and a team-leading .509 on-base percentage at third base this season for the Chanticleers. Woodward hit .457 in Big South games this year and stole 32 bases in Big South games. He was 4-for-6 with four runs scored at Charleston Southern March 20 and was a perfect 3-for-3 in a win over Presbyterian April 2. This is Woodward’s second All-Big South honor after earning it in his freshman season.
Noel is hitting .349 with 16 doubles, nine home runs and 59 RBI for the Chanticleers at outfield this season. Noel leads the Big South and is second in the nation with 50 steals this season. He also is only the third player in Big South history to steal 50 or more bases in a season. Noel has 20 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI performances this season, including going 4-for-6 with four RBI in the win over Charleston Southern March 20. Noel hit the game-winning home run at Clemson March 31 and drove in five runs in a win over Presbyterian April 2. This is Noel’s second straight First Team honor.
Connolly is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in a team-leading 35 appearances this season for the Chanticleers as a relief pitcher. He has held opponents to a .229 batting average and has struck out 42 batters in 45 innings pitched. He struck out seven in 4.1 innings pitched in a win over The Citadel April 13. He has allowed just 7-of-33 inherited runners to score and has retired 25-of-35 first batter’s faced.
In other specialty awards, High Point’s Nate Roberts was named the Player of the Year, while VMI’s Cory Spangenberg was named the Freshman of the Year.
Coastal Carolina will face the Radford/High Point loser Thursday, May 27 at 3 p.m., in the 2010 Big South Baseball Championships in Rock Hill, S.C.
