USCA's Jacobsen named regions top player
USCA Sports Information
USC Aiken landed three players on the 2008 Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) South Atlantic All-Region team released this week. Chad Jacobsen and Peden Rucker were named to the First-Team while Scott Wandless was placed on the Second-Team. In addition, Jacobsen was named the South Atlantic Region's Player of the Year. Centerfielder Cody McMorris received a spot on the ABCA's nine-member Gold Glove First-Team.
Jacobsen and Rucker now go on the ballot for All-America consideration. The three All-Region selections run the Pacers' total to 34 in the past 16 years.
In joining former Pacer great Ashley Farr (2003) as the school's only Region Player of the Year, Jacobsen turned in a phenomenal, record-setting senior campaign. The 6-foot-1 native of Littleton, Colo., shattered nine single season school records in addition to becoming the program's all-time leader in career slugging percentage (.710). With 108 hits in 2008, the first baseman not only broke Farr's school mark of 100, but also set a new Peach Belt Conference record.
Jacobsen led the PBC in eight offensive categories and finished second in three more. Hitting .439 with 21 doubles, two triples and 22 home runs, Jacobsen drove in 80 RBIs and scored 81 runs, slugging .809 and posting a .545 on-base percentage with 57 walks. He ranks in the top three of Division II in five statistical categories and is in the top 10 of four more.
Twice an All-Conference and All-Region selection, Jacobsen was a two-time PBC Player of the Week honoree in 2008 and became the program's third PBC Player of the Year.
Rucker closed out his senior season in spectacular fashion, finishing his four-year career as one of the most decorated hurlers in USCA history. The 6-foot-2 lefthander went 11-1 with a 3.45 ERA in 101.2 innings of work this season. Holding opponents to a .261 batting average against, the Lexington native made 15 starts, recording three complete games. He issued just 20 walks while striking out 69.
One of five pitchers named to the Peach Belt All-Conference First-Team, Rucker was second in wins to Region Pitcher of the Year Korey Noles' 13-0 mark. Ranking seventh in Division II in victories, Rucker was also in the top 10 in the league in ERA, innings pitched, opponents batting average, and strikeouts.
Named the PBC Pitcher of the Week on March 31, Rucker tossed a complete game gem against No. 9 Columbus State. In the 3-1 victory, Rucker scattered eight hits and allowed one walk while holding the Cougars to just one unearned run. In an elimination game of the 2008 PBC Tournament, Rucker threw seven innings of three-hit, scoreless baseball, not walking a batter and fanning five in a 10-3 win over Armstrong Atlantic State, earning All-Tournament recognition.
Finishing his career with a 30-13 record, Rucker is both the single season and career wins leader as well as owning career marks in innings pitched (363.2) and starts (47).
Wandless concluded one of the best four-year careers of any Pacer starting pitcher. With a 27-6 all-time record, the 6-foot lefthander had an .818 winning percentage, second only to Steve Lee's 14-2 ledger in 1992. Wandless went 9-3 with a team-best 3.31 ERA in 111.1 innings pitched in 2008. In holding opponents to a .227 batting average against, he struck out 125 hitters, just nine shy of the school record.
Joining Rucker on the PBC All-Conference First-Team, Wandless finished in the top three in five league categories including wins, strikeouts, opponents' batting average, innings pitched, and pickoffs. Nationally, the Evans, Ga. product finished fifth in Division II in strikeouts, 25th in strikeouts per nine innings, and 31st in wins.
Saving his best for last, Wandless tossed his first career complete-game shutout in an amazing 1-0 win over No. 14 North Georgia in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA South Atlantic Regional, fanning nine and allowing just three hits in earning All-Tournament honors. Wandless closed out his four-year career as the school's all-time strikeout king (318).
McMorris took over for four-year starter Zach Cooper in centerfield this season and did an outstanding job, batting .328 from the leadoff spot with eight doubles, four triples, 30 RBI, and 74 runs scored. The 5-foot-8 native of Canton, Ga. also led the team in stolen bases converting 30 of 35 attempts and drew 37 walks.
The junior centerfielder ranks 13th in Division II in runs scored and 19th in stolen bases. In the field, McMorris made numerous outstanding plays, finishing with a .976 fielding percentage with four outfield assists.
USCA closed out the 2008 season with a 47-17 record, the most wins in the school's NCAA era and the third highest win total in the 36-year history of the program. Finishing PBC play with an 18-9 mark, the Pacers were second, just one game behind Columbus State. USCA earned the program's fourth-straight NCAA South Atlantic Regional berth -- the longest active streak in the league -- before falling to top-ranked Mount Olive in the regional championship game, just missing advancing to the program's first College World Series since 1993.
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