LIVINGSTON – Right-handed pitcher Cade Miller has chosen the University of West Alabama as his college home. While at UWA, Miller will be an active part of the Tiger baseball team under the direction of head coach Gary Rundles.

“We are excited to add Cade to our roster,” said Rundles of the incoming freshman. “He has a tremendous upside and outstanding working ethic and character.”

“Cade has the ability to help our team as a freshman with an upper 80s fastball that will continue to get better over time. He is the brother of Evan Miller that pitched for the Tigers a few years ago and will be another great addition to our 2022 roster.”

Miller is a recent graduate of Curry High School in Jasper, Ala. As a Yellow Jacket, he aided the team in back-to-back Walker County Championship titles. In the most recent tournament, Miller struck out 16 batters, leading Curry to a 3-1 victory over Dora High School. He was honored as the tournament MVP.

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LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Junior Marquez Hudson has signed with the University of West Alabama baseball team for the upcoming 2021-2022 season. The Monticello, Miss. native began his career at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and has decided to continue his collegiate career as a Tiger.

“Marquez is a talented and versatile player that can play outfield and corner infield,” said head baseball Gary Rundles of the transfer. “Offensively, he should supply our team with some additional power and added depth. He is a person of strong character, which is very important for team chemistry. We are thrilled to add a player with Marquez’s talent to our roster.”

At Co-Lin, Houston spent two seasons covering both the infield and outfield over 58 games. The Lawrence County High School graduate saw 58 at-bats for 51 hits (10 doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs), 44 runs, and 47 RBIs. He maintained a .287 batting average, a .393 on-base percentage, and a .556 slugging percentage.

In high school, he earned All-District honors and a .405 batting average.

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – South Alabama claimed its conference-best 13th all-time tournament title at the 2021 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University with a 10-4 victory over Georgia Southern in Sunday’s championship game.

Sun Belt Player of the Year graduate student outfielder Mason McWhorter got things started for Georgia Southern with a solo shot to left field with two outs in the top of the first inning. The Eagles then manufactured a pair in the top of the second—stringing together a double, a single, a sacrifice fly and two more singles and chasing South Alabama starter senior right-handed pitcher Matt Boswell—to take a 3-0 lead.

South Alabama got those three runs back on one swing, with a two-out, three-run home run by senior catcher Richard Sorrenti in the bottom half of the second to knot the game at 3-3.

The Eagles and Jaguars combined to strand seven runners in the third and fourth innings, before South Alabama broke through with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Senior outfielder Michael Sandle drew a walk to open the inning, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. A double down the left field line by redshirt senior second baseman Hunter Stokes plated the go-ahead run for the Jaguars.

South Alabama added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth—when senior outfielder Michael Sandle’s single to left center plated freshman outfielder Hunter Donaldson—and tacked on another in the seventh—when Donaldson beat out a throw for an infield single, allowing senior first baseman Kaleb DeLaTorre to score.

A four-run bottom of the eighth cemented the Jaguar lead for good, though the Eagles plated one in the top half of the ninth to provide the final 10-4 margin.

Senior right-handed pitcher Miles Smith, who came back on short rest and allowed just one run on six hits over the final 7.2 innings, earned the win for the Jaguars en route to Most Outstanding Player honors at the Sun Belt Baseball Championship.

South Alabama will represent the Sun Belt in the NCAA Baseball Regionals as the conference’s automatic qualifier—and will learn its destination during the selection show on ESPN2 at 12 noon ET on Monday, May 31.

Most Outstanding Player
Miles Smith, South Alabama (Sr., P – Laurel, Miss.)

All-Tournament Team
Nick Lucky, Coastal Carolina (Jr., OF – Denver, Pa.)
Parker Biederer, Georgia Southern (Sr., OF – Cumming, Ga.)
Jordan Jackson, Georgia Southern (Sr., P – McDonough, Ga.)
Jason Swan, Georgia Southern (Sr., 1B – Jacksonville, Fla.)
Josh Smith, Georgia State (So., OF – College Park, Ga.)
Spencer Arrighetti, Louisiana (So., P – Katy, Texas)
Ben Fitzgerald, Louisiana (Jr., DH – Mason City, Iowa)
Kaleb DeLaTorre, South Alabama (Sr., 1B – Fort Scott, Kan.)
Hunter Donaldson, South Alabama (Fr., OF – Phenix City, Ala.)
Santi Montiel, South Alabama (Jr., SS – Alpharetta, Ga.)
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Jr., OF – Andalusia, Ala.)
Connor Aube, UTA (Sr., OF – Falmouth, Maine)
Carlos Tavera UTA (Jr., P – Fort Worth, Texas)

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NEW ORLEANS — Following a vote of the conference’s 12 head coaches, Georgia Southern’s Mason McWhorter, Little Rock’s Hayden Arnold, Troy’s Garrett Gainous, Louisiana’s Drake Osborn and South Alabama’s Mark Calvi received the Sun Belt Conference’s baseball postseason honors. The conference office also announced the 2021 Baseball All-Sun Belt teams Monday.

Georgia Southern’s McWhorter was named the Sun Belt Baseball Player of the Year; Little Rock’s Arnold was selected as the Pitcher of the Year; Troy’s Gainous was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year; Louisiana’s Osborn was dubbed the Newcomer of the Year and South Alabama’s Calvi was honored as the Ron Maestri Coach of the Year.

McWhorter paced the Sun Belt with a .371 batting average, 144 total bases, 78 hits and 16 home runs, while ranking second in the conference with a .686 slugging percentage, .449 on-base percentage, 48 RBIs, 47 runs scored and 16 doubles. The Cumming, Ga., product is also a semifinalist for the 2021 Dick Howser Trophy.

Arnold posted a 7-3 record, while maintaining a 2.85 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 82.0 innings pitched. The Rison, Ark., native struck out 80 and held opponents to a .226 batting average on the season. Arnold ranked among the Top 10 in the Sun Belt in wins, innings pitched, earned run average, walks allowed, earned runs allowed, runs allowed, strikeouts and opposing batting average.

Gainous tallied a 9-4 record, with a 4.04 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 82.1 innings pitched. A native of Cairo, Ga., the freshman led all Sun Belt hurlers with nine victories on the hill, while ranking among the Top 10 in games started, innings pitched and strikeouts.

Osborn, a transfer from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, hit .333 with 75 total bases, 22 RBIs, 21 runs scored, 16 doubles and a pair of home runs. The Sandia, Texas, product ranked second in the conference in doubles, fourth in batting average and seventh with a .410 on-base percentage.

Calvi guided South Alabama to a 29-20 record, including a Sun Belt leading 15-9 mark in conference play to earn the Sun Belt East Division title. Entering the 2021 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University, the Jaguars sit at No. 74 in the RPI—the highest of any Sun Belt program. This is Calvi’s third Sun Belt Coach of the Year nod (2013, 2015 & 2021) since taking the helm of the South Alabama program in 2012.

Louisiana was the lone program to produce three All-Sun Belt First Team selections, while App State, Georgia Southern and Troy also claimed multiple First Team honorees.

App State (3), Coastal Carolina (3), Georgia Southern (3), Louisiana (3), South Alabama (3), UTA (3), Little Rock (2), Arkansas State (2), Georgia State (2), ULM (2) and Troy (2) each had multiple All-Sun Belt recipients. 11-of-12 Sun Belt programs were represented on the two All-Sun Belt teams.

Player of the Year
Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern (Gr., OF – Cumming, Ga.)

Pitcher of the Year
Hayden Arnold, Little Rock (Sr., P – Rison, Ark.)

Freshman of the Year
Garrett Gainous, Troy (Fr., P – Cairo, Ga.)

Newcomer of the Year
Drake Osborn, Louisiana (Sr., C – Sandia, Texas)

Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Mark Calvi, South Alabama

All-Sun Belt First Team
Connor Cooke, Louisiana (So., P – Sulphur, La.)
Hayden Arnold, Little Rock (Sr., P – Rison, Ark.)
Carlos Tavera, UTA (Jr., P – Fort Worth, Texas)
Nick Jones, Georgia Southern (Sr., RP – Johns Creek, Ga.)
Drake Osborn, Louisiana (Sr., C – Sandia, Texas)
Robbie Young, App State (Sr., 1B – Louisville, Ky.)
Luke Drumheller, App State (Jr., 2B – Charlotte, N.C.)
Drew Frederic, Troy (Sr., SS – Niceville, Fla.)
Ben Klutts, Arkansas State (Jr., 3B – Poteau, Okla.)
Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern (Gr., OF – Cumming, Ga.)
Logan Cerny, Troy (So., OF – Lawrenceville, Ga.)
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Jr., OF – Andalusia, Ala.)
Cameron Jones, Georgia State (Fr., UT – Kathleen, Ga.)
Ben Fitzgerald, Louisiana (Jr., DH – Mason City, Iowa)

All-Sun Belt Second Team
JoJo Booker, South Alabama (Sr., P – Brewton, Ala.)
Tyler Tuthill, App State (Jr, P – Clayton, N.C.)
Jeremy Lee, South Alabama (Fr., P – Valley Grand, Ala.)
Aaron Barkley, Little Rock (Gr., RP – El Cajon, Calif.)
BT Riopelle, Coastal Carolina (Jr., C – Marietta, Ga.)
Dylan Paul, UTA (RS Sr., 1B – Allen, Texas)
Travis Washburn, ULM (So., 2B – Conroe, Texas)
Eric Brown, Coastal Carolina (So., SS – Bossier City, La.)
Grant Schulz, ULM (Jr., 3B – Mereaux, La.)
Tyler Duncan, Arkansas State (Sr., OF – Sooke, British Columbia, Canada)
Parker Chavers, Coastal Carolina (RS Jr., OF – Montgomery, Ala.)
Josh Smith, Georgia State (So., OF – College Park, Ga.)
Andrew Miller, UTA (Sr., UT – Frisco, Texas)
Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern (Jr., DH – Buford, Ga.)

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Southern States Athletic Conference announced that it has partnered with the Mobile Sports Authority (MSA) and Mobile Sports and Entertainment Group (MSEG) to bring the SSAC Baseball Championship to Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Ala. The four-year agreement runs through the 2023-24 academic year.

“We are excited to partner with the Mobile Sports Authority and Mobile Sports and Entertainment Group to bring our Baseball Championship to Mobile,” said SSAC Commissioner Mike Hall. “Hank Aaron Stadium will provide a first-class venue for our fans and student-athletes and the city of Mobile has a long-tenured history hosting successful events.”

“As we slowly work through returning to some manner of normalcy in our lives, we believe that going forward sporting events will lead the way in helping to return the overall tourism industry to a healthy level,” said Danny Corte, Executive Director – Mobile Sports Authority.

“With that stated, the Mobile Sports Authority has continued to engage sports events owners on the advantages of coming to play in Mobile. So in conjunction with our premium event partner, the Mobile Sports & Entertainment Group, the Mobile Sports Authority is very excited and proud to have recently been awarded the SSAC Baseball Tournament for 2021 and beyond. We want to thank Commissioner Mike Hall and the SSAC member schools for the confidence they’ve shown in our team and we look forward to seeing the teams, alumni, fans, and friends at the Hank in the future.”

“We are excited to once again partner with the Mobile Sports Authority to bring the Southern States Athletic Conference to Mobile,” said Kevin Grimes, Vice President of Baseball Operations – Mobile Sports & Entertainment Group. “The SSAC Baseball Championship is exactly the type of event that we had in mind when we started this company and we look forward to hosting such a great baseball conference at historic Hank Aaron Stadium.”

Noteworthy

• Hank Aaron Stadium is a 6,000-seat stadium that opened April 17, 1997.
• From 1997-2019, it hosted the Mobile BayBears, a AA team in the Southern League.
• Dimensions are 310 feet to right field, 325 feet to left field and 400 feet to center field.
• The stadium features luxury suites at field level and a commemorative plaque outside to honor each Mobilian enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

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