Lake Named BSC Coach of the Year as Five Bucs Earn Honors

LEXINGTON, Va. – Five Charleston Southern players earned conference honors as head coach Stuart Lake was named the 2011 Big South Coach of the Year at the 2011 Royal Purple Big South Baseball Championship presented by Triangle Rent a Car on Wednesday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va.

Matt Still and Charlie McCready were both named First Team All-Conference, while Jaren Sustar, Nick Chinners and Walt Quattlebaum all earned spots on the All-Conference Second Team.  McCready was also named to the Big South’s All-Academic Team.   CSU’s five honorees are the most in program history.

Lake’s Buccaneers have by far exceeded expectations this season. Picked to finish eighth in the Big South in 2011, the Bucs went 28-28 overall and 15-12 in conference play to claim third place in the conference.  It marks CSU’s highest finish since 2002, when the team went 12-9 in BSC play to also finish third.  It is also the first time in nine seasons the Bucs have recorded 28 wins and 15 conference wins, and just the fourth time in school history they have reached at least 28 wins.  Lake is the third coach in Charleston Southern history to earn Coach of the Year honors, with Gary Murphy (2000) and Randy Mazey (1996) previously earning the honor. 

A redshirt-senior, Still saved his best performance for his final season with the Bucs.  The left fielder currently leads the team in batting average in Big South games (.375) and is also first in doubles with 19.  Still is second on the team in overall batting average at .358 and boasts a slugging percentage of .552.  He has three home runs and 36 RBI on the season. 

“I’m very proud of Matt,” said Lake, who is in his third season at the helm of the Bucs.  “There are a lot of quality players in the Big South.  Matt has been solid for us this year and a huge producer at the plate.  He started at third for us last year and was willing to move to the outfield this year when we needed him.  He’s a great team player and it’s nice to see him honored.”

McCready has had a stellar junior campaign for the Bucs in 2011.  At one time, the left-handed relief pitcher led all of NCAA Division I with an ERA of 0.24, holding opposing batters scoreless for nearly a month.  He finished the season as the team leader in ERA q5 1.95.  McCready threw 55.1 innings for the Bucs and gave up just 17 runs (12 earned) in 26 appearances.   A 2011 Capital One Academic All-District Three Second Team honoree, McCready boasts a 3.96 GPA and was named to the All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season. 

“Charlie has been a huge reason for our success this season,” said Lake.  “To be named to both the conference first team and academic team is well-deserved for Charlie.  He has been a part of this program for all of my three seasons and is willing to work in any role we need him in to help the team.”

Chinners, a team captain, earns his second consecutive conference honors after claiming a spot on the 2010 All-Conference Second Team.  Despite nagging injuries, Chinners became CSU’s all-time hits leader on May 6 with his 245th career hit and now boasts 252 entering the postseason.  The first baseman had 12 games with two or more RBI, including a season-high of four vs. USC Upstate on March 16.  He finished the season fifth in the conference with 30 walks. 

“Nick has battled through a number of nagging injuries this season and has still been very productive for us,” said Lake.  “He has been a great contributor to our program.  Nick leaves CSU as the all-time hits leader and ranks up there in some other categories as well.  I’m very proud of him.”

After seeing limited time as a freshman, Sustar has had a breakout season as a sophomore.  He earned the start at third base and went on to earn Big South Player of the Week honors on May 16.  Back in March, Sustar tied the NCAA record with four sacrifice bunts against Fordham and was third in the BSC with 15 sac bunts.  He finished the regular season leading the team in hits with 77, ranking sixth in the league in that category. 

“Jaren has had a very big year for us,” said Lake.  “He solidified himself in the fall and has been a tremendous leader for our team.  He has batted well all over our lineup and has been productive anywhere we’ve put him.  We are very happy for him and proud of his accomplishments this season.”

Quattlebaum earned all-second team honors as a second baseman after shifting over from shortstop in the middle of the season.   He ranks ninth in the Big South with a batting average of .352, and had three home runs on the season.  Quattlebaum boasts a stellar fielding percentage of .945 and is second on the team in hits with 70. 

“Walt has been our “jack of all trades” for us,” said Lake.  “He has started at shortstop, second base and first base.  Walt has been a big part of our offense and has done a great job of hitting in the middle of our lineup.  He’s from nearby Dorchester Academy and transferred in my first season.  He’s just been great for us.”

2011 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
 
FIRST-TEAM
SP       Anthony Meo, Jr., RHP, Coastal Carolina
SP       Matt Rein, Sr., LHP, Coastal Carolina
SP       Keegan Linza, Sr., RHP, Liberty
RP       Charlie McCready, Jr., LHP, Charleston Southern (tie)
RP       Abram Williams, Jr., RHP, Radford (tie)
C         Alex Haitsuka, Sr., VMI
1B       Matt Mack, Jr., Radford
2B       Tommy La Stella, R-Jr., Coastal Carolina
3B       Scott Woodward, Sr., Coastal Carolina
SS       Sam Roberts, Sr., VMI
DH      Brad Zebedis, Fr., Presbyterian College
OF       Steve Antolik, Sr., High Point
OF       Matt Hillsinger, Jr., Radford
OF       Matt Still, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
 
SECOND-TEAM
SP       Steven Evans, Sr., LHP, Liberty
SP       Eddie Butler, Soph., RHP, Radford
SP       Tyler Mizenko, Jr., RHP, Winthrop (tie)
SP       Cody Allen, R-Jr., RHP, High Point (tie)
RP       Garrett Baker, Jr., LHP, Liberty
C         Eddie Rohan, Sr., Winthrop
1B       Nick Chinners, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
2B       Walt Quattlebaum, R-Jr., Charleston Southern (tie)
2B       Jordan Lurie, Jr., UNC Asheville (tie)
3B       Jaren Sustar, Soph., Charleston Southern
SS       Matt Williams, Jr., Liberty
DH      Ryan Burgess, Soph., Radford
OF       Doug Bream, Sr., Liberty
OF       Graham Sullivan, Sr., VMI
OF       Tony Micklon, Jr., Presbyterian College
 
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Charlie McCready, Jr., Charleston Southern
Tucker Frawley, Jr., Coastal Carolina
Dusty Quattlebaum, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb
Spencer Andrews, Sr., High Point
Keegan Linza, Sr., Liberty
Andrew Williams, Soph., Presbyterian College
Jason Patten, Jr., Radford
Cody Buch, Jr., UNC Asheville
Alex Haitsuka, Sr., VMI
Matteo D’Angelo, Sr., Winthrop
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tommy La Stella, R-Jr., 2B, Coastal Carolina
 
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Matt Rein, Sr., LHP, Coastal Carolina
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Brad Zebedis, C/DH, Presbyterian College
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Stuart Lake, Charleston Southern
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Dusty Quattlebaum, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb

Coach Lake Named 2011 BSC Coach of the Year