ninth. Parreira drew three walks for a. 762 on-base percentage and was behind the plate in three of the four games. He did not commit an error while throwing out two attempted base stealers, turning a double play and registering five assists.
Parreira is the second PBC player to receive an NCBWA national honor this season. North Georgia’ s Steven Bower was named the National Pitcher of the Week on April 7.
UNG’ s Steven Bower Named NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week
DALLAS- University of North Georgia sophomore Steven Bower has been named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association( NCBWA) National Pitcher of the Week, the association announced Thursday afternoon. It is first ever national honor for Bower and the first time a PBC player has received a national honor from the NCBWA this season.
Bower threw the first no-hitter in school history last Friday as he shut out Montevallo, 10-0. The lefty from Lawrenceville struck out 10 while only allowing three walks, completing the game with 107 pitches thrown, 67 for strikes. Bower’ s no-hitter was only the fifth in a PBC conference game and the first since 2005. Bower is currently third in the PBC with a 2.16 earned run average, eighth in strikeouts, and third in wins.
Waggener Tabbed to Lead Young Harris Baseball
2016-17
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Young Harris College Director of Athletics Randy Dunn has announced that Stephen Waggener will be the next baseball coach for the Mountain Lions.
Waggener comes to the Enchanted Valley after spending the past nine years at Delta State University as an assistant coach.
“ I am so excited Coach Waggener will be guiding our baseball program in the future,” said Dunn.“ He is a tremendous recruiter, excellent on the field coach, understands the importance of developing and preparing his student-athletes for life after baseball and being involved in the community. Coach Waggener is a proven winner.”
Waggener helped the Statesmen to two NCAA Division II Baseball Championship appearances during his time in Cleveland, Mississippi. No. 4-ranked Delta State went 45-13 in 2017 and advanced to the third round in Grand Prairie, Texas. Delta State went 49-15 in 2012 as the Statesmen finished as national runner-up.
The Statesmen qualified for the Gulf South Conference Tournament and were regionally and nationally ranked every season while he was at Delta State. The Statesmen, who amassed a 345-138-2 record(. 712 winning percentage) over the past nine seasons, won five Gulf South Conference regular-season championships( 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017) and three GSC Tournament titles( 2012, 2016, 2017). Delta State also made five trips( 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
“ I am thrilled and honored to to begin this new challenge as the head baseball coach at Young Harris College,” said Waggener.“ The opportunity to rebuild a tradition rich program that has claimed eight( NJCAA) conference championships, qualified for a( NJCAA) World Series, and produced major leaguers such as Charlie Blackmon, Nick Markakis, Cory Gearrin, and Billy Buckner is both exciting and humbling.
“ I want to thank President Cox and Coach Dunn for trusting me to lead this program,” added Waggener.“ I also want to express my gratitude to Coach Kinnison for his mentorship over the last nine years at Delta State. My family will greatly miss the community in Cleveland, Mississippi, but we are beyond excited to call the Enchanted Valley our new home. I can’ t wait to meet the team and get to work.”
At Delta State, Waggener coordinated recruiting and recruiting compliance efforts for the Statesmen. His coaching areas included hitting, catching, and assisting with pitching. Delta State’ s recruiting classes during this time featured 18 MLB draft picks that were selected either prior to or after attending Delta State, the 2017 GSC, South Region, and National Player of the Year, the 2016 GSC and South Region Pitcher of the Year, the 2016 National Defensive Player of the Year, 10 All-Americans, 19 All-Region players, 32 All-GSC performers, and three players who received South Region Gold Glove Awards.
Waggener, a 2004 graduate of the University of West Alabama with a degree in business administration, lettered two years for the Tigers. The Madison, Mississippi, native played two years at Holmes Community College before transferring to UWA. He also earned a master’ s degree in sports science from United States Sports Academy in 2007.
Stephen and his wife, Brittany, have two sons, Tripp and John Patrick.
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