Southern Conference Coaches Name All-Conference Team

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The Southern Conference today announced its 2001 All-Southern Conference baseball team and individual award winners as selected by the league's head coaches.

Sophomore Eric Talbert, who posted an 8-2 record with a league-leading 1.81 earned run average, was named the Southern Conference's Pitcher of the Year. His teammate, senior first baseman Philip Hartig, was named the SoCon's Player of the Year after hitting .375 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI's.

Furman's Derek Norman, a third baseman, was named the SoCon's Freshman of the Year. Norman hit .376 with five home runs and 42 RBI.

Rodney Hennon of Georgia Southern was named the SoCon Coach of the year, narrowly edging Western Carolina's Todd Raleigh. It marks the second consecutive year Hennon has earned the honor as he led the Eagles to the regular season championship and a 39-16 regular season record.

On the all-SoCon team, Hartig, The Citadel's senior first baseman, was a first team selection for the fourth consecutive year. He joins former Western Carolina outfielder Fred Hailey (1984-87) as the only SoCon players to ever earn first team honors in four seasons.

Three players were unanimous selections to the all-conference team: The Citadel's Talbert, Scott Henley, Georgia Southern's designated hitter, and Nathan Copeland, an outfielder for East Tennessee State, were all unanimous selections. Henley leads the SoCon with a .413 batting average and 81 RBI. Copeland is the SoCon leader with 23 doubles and a .725 slugging percentage.

Randy Corn , The Citadel's closer, earned first team all-league honors as the reliever. Corn is second in the nation in strikeouts per game with 13.9.

There was a tie for first team honors at catcher between College of Charleston's Matt Lauderdale and James Marino of Davidson. Lauderdale hit .342 with three homers and 40 RBI while Marino hit .316 with nine HR's and 37 RBI.

Wes Timmons of Appalachian State repeated on the first team at shortstop after hitting .382 with five HR's and 35 RBI.

The Citadel's Dallas McPherson was the first team pick at third base with a .347 average, 10 home runs and 53 RBI.

Joining Copeland in the outfield are a pair of Western Carolina players in Alan Beck and Donovan Minero. Beck hit .382 with 13 HR's and 57 RBI while Minero is the SoCon home run lead with 17. He hit .372 with 72 RBI during the regular season.

First Team
P- Eric Talbert, The Citadel
P- Brett Lewis, Georgia Southern
RP- Randy Corn, The Citadel
C- (tie) Matt Lauderdale, College of Charleston and James Marino, Davidson
1B- Philip Hartig, The Citadel *
2B- Shane Schumaker, UNCG $
SS- Wes Timmons, Appalachian State #
3B- Dallas McPherson, The Citadel &
OF- Nathan Copeland, East Tennessee State
OF- Donovan Minero, Western Carolina
OF- Alan Beck, Western Carolina
DH- Scott Henley, Georgia Southern

Second Team
P- Toby David, Furman
P- Taft Cable, UNCG $
RP- Andy Hutchings, College of Charleston
C- Justin Maderer, Furman
1B- Andy Baxter, East Tennessee State
2B- Adam Etherington, Furman
SS- Jemel Spearman, Georgia Southern
3B- Derek Norman, Furman
OF- Matt Herring, Georgia Southern
OF- Darryl Stephens, Georgia Southern
OF- Tim Frend, Davidson
OF- Chris Walker, Georgia Southern
DH- Billy Ryan, Davidson

Individual Honors
Player of the Year: Philip Hartig, 1B, The Citadel
Pitcher of the Year: Eric Talbert, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year: Derek Norman, 3B, Furman
Coach of the Year: Rodney Hennon, Georgia Southern

* indicates first team in 2000, 1999 and 1998
# indicates first team in 2000
$ indicates second team in 2000
& indicates first team DH in 2000