Senior catcher Luke Robinson was joined by junior outfielder Justice Bigbie and junior Will Prater as the designated hitter as each collected first-team plaudits at their respective positions. Right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews and freshman shortstop Pascanel Ferreras both tallied second-team nods as the SoCon released its postseason awards from both the league's head coaches and voting members of the SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA). Ferreras added an all-freshman team selection from the coaches on Tuesday.
Western Carolina's five players on the first and second all-conference teams in 2021 are its most since landing five on the honorary squad in 2016 (one on the first team and four on the second team). WCU's three first-team All-SoCon selections are its most since putting four on the first-team back in 2014. Also, Ferreras is the first Catamount rookie to earn both all-conference and all-freshman team plaudits in the same season since the league began naming an all-freshman team in 2009, collecting second-team honors from the coaches and media.
Robinson, a fifth-year senior from McLeansville, N.C., batted a career-best .335 this year, closing the regular season with a four-hit, three home run, and eight RBI effort in a 21-0 victory at The Citadel. He matched his single-season career-high with 11 home runs this spring, adding a dozen doubles as 23 of his 63 seasonal hits went for extra bases. Robinson also finished knotted with two others for the team-lead with 46 RBI which tied him for sixth in the SoCon with a team-high 27 of his runs driven in coming with two outs. Robinson had a .574 slugging percentage and adding a team-high 14 HBPs and 11 walks, had a .407 on-base percentage in the regular season. He was additionally named to the official watch list for the 2021 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year award.
Elected as a team captain for a second-consecutive season, Robinson raised his WCU career average to .296 collectively with 189 hits including 33 doubles, four triples, and 25 home runs. He has 129 RBI and 102 career runs scored since 2017.
Bigbie collected first-team All-SoCon honors for the second time in his career. The third-year slugger recorded a team-best 66 hits, finishing the regular season with a career single-season best .371 batting average, third among active players in the SoCon. Bigbie was boasted the second-best on-base percentage in the SoCon among qualifying players at .482. The Chesapeake, Va., native led the Catamounts with 20 multi-hit games including five, four-hit efforts, and drove in 46 runs to tie for the team lead while also pacing the squad with 10 stolen bases.
A two-time team captain, Bigbie collected the first SoCon Player of the Week honor in late February in helping the Catamounts to the four-game sweep of Towson. He also was dubbed the SoCon's Player of the Month in February, batting .393 (11-for-28) with four extra-base hits. Bigbie has a .343 career batting average with 234 hits to rank just outside of WCU's career top 25. His 151 career RBI rank 20th in program history with his 44 doubles tying him for 22nd in WCU's record books (Kevin Bellomo, 44 – 1988-91). He has 26 career home runs with his next round-tripper tying him with three others for 24th in the school ledgers.
Prater finished the regular season second in the SoCon with a team-leading .404 batting average to rank 16th nationally, collecting 61 hits including a team-best 54 singles, four doubles, and three triples. The Dallas, Ga., native will try and become the first Catamount to finish the year above the .400 threshold since Ross Heffley back in 2011 (.419). After starting just three of the team's first 12 games of the year, Prater was reinserted into the starting lineup on March 26 after an injury to second baseman Daniel Walsh and he has started every game since. Following a 4-for-5 effort on the road at Wofford on April 2, Prater's batting average surged above .400 where it remained the rest of the regular season.
Among his 33 games on the season, Prater was the designated hitter in 18 contests while also starting at second base (nine games), third base (four games), and in right field twice. He led the team in batting average with runners in scoring position (25-of-60, .417).
Selected as a team captain in just his second year playing for the Purple and Gold, Matthews earned second-team honors as a starting pitcher after finishing the regular season with a 3.52 ERA – sixth-best in the SoCon – over 10 starts with two complete games. The right-hander struck out 60 batters against just seven walks over 61.1 innings of work. Elected a team captain in the preseason, Matthews suffered a season-ending elbow injury at the end of April and was sidelined, missing his final three scheduled starts of the regular season.
Matthews, a product of Cullowhee, N.C., was a three-time SoCon Pitcher of the Week, matching the most weekly individual honors by a pitcher this spring. He earned his first award after striking out seven over 7.0 innings in a road win at UNCW on March 1, with his second weekly recognition coming on April 12 after a seven-strikeout, 5.0 inning complete game in a fog-shortened win over VMI at home. His third honor came on a four-hit complete game 3-0 shutout over ETSU in Johnson City, collecting the honors on April 26. Matthews was also dubbed the SoCon Pitcher of the Month in February.
Ferreras finished the regular season fourth on the team with a .323 batting average, tied for second with 63 base hits including nine doubles, two triples, and a team-best 13 home runs which ranked him tied for third in the SoCon. His 24 extra base hits in the regular season paced the squad. The Stone Mountain, Ga., native was among the three Catamounts tied with a team-high 46 RBI on the season, posting multiple RBI in 13 games as a true frosh, and was second on the squad with 19 multiple-hit games. He hit in the lead-off spot in 35 of the team's 45 regular-season games.
In the field, Ferreras helped WCU turn a SoCon-best 39 double-plays, finishing the regular season as a part of 31 double-plays – the most among all league individuals. He was also on the initial watch list for the 2021 Brooks Wallace Award given to the nation's top shortstop.
Wofford outfielder Colin Davis and right-handed pitcher Elliot Carney were the unanimous selections for Southern Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, with head coach Todd Interdonato earning the coach of the year accolades. Justin Starke from VMI, who was a true freshman in 2020 but remained eligible for top rookie honors following the COVID-shortened season, collected the league's freshman of the year award after pacing the SoCon in batting average in 2021.
Western Carolina (26-19, 14-11 SoCon) opens play in the 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases on Thursday (May 27) afternoon, squaring-off against top-seeded Wofford (35-19, 21-9 SoCon) at 3:30 pm at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. The Catamount Club will hold a special pre-tournament social at Mac's Speed Shop (930 S. Main St., Greenville, S.C.) from 2:00 – 3:15 p.m. To RSVP for the social, please email the Catamount Club at catamountclub@wcu.edu or call (828) 227-3749.
Tickets for the 2021 SoCon Baseball Championship are on just $12 for a day session and are on sale now through the Greenville Drive box office at (864) 240-4528 and online HERE.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
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