It was nearly a clean sweep of the major awards for Liberty baseball as the ASUN announced its Baseball Postseason All-Conference accolades. Trevor DeLaite was named Pitcher of the Year, Trey Gibson was selected Freshman of the Year, Cam Locklear was voted Defensive Player of the Year, and Scott Jackson was named Coach of the Year.
In addition to DeLaite, relief pitcher Fraser Ellard, catcher Gray Betts, second baseman Will Wagner, and outfielder Aaron Anderson were named to the ASUN All-Conference First-Team. Gibson, Locklear, third baseman Trey McDyre, and designated hitter Brady Gulakowski were voted to the ASUN All-Conference Second-Team.
The left-hander DeLaite becomes the first Liberty player to be named ASUN Pitcher of the Year. He leads the conference in wins (9) and complete games (4) which includes two shutouts. He is the only conference pitcher with multiple complete games on the season as all have come against league competition and he has not lost a game since Feb. 26. DeLaite has recorded 68 strikeouts in 84.0 innings pitched and his 2.14 ERA is second in the ASUN.
Gibson landed the Freshman of the Year award after producing a 5-1 record and 1.35 ERA against league competition and he went 7-4 with a 3.32 ERA overall. Gibson’s 70 strikeouts on the year rank fourth in the ASUN with just seven walks. The freshman righty has tossed 65.0 innings on the year.
Locklear recorded a .976 fielding percentage in conference games and .978 overall while committing just four errors as the shortstop earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. He has started all 47 games for Liberty this season and his 62 assists against ASUN opponents ranks first in the league. Locklear, the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has helped turn 22 double plays this year and ranks second in Liberty baseball history with 236 career games played.
Jackson becomes the first coach in program history to earn the ASUN Coach of the Year honor as he helped guide the Flames to a 19-2 conference record and 35-12 mark overall. The 90.4% conference winning percentage marks the best for an ASUN squad since 1990 when Georgia Southern went 17-1. The 19 conference wins are the most by any team since 2014 as Liberty looks to secure their second consecutive ASUN Championship title.
In Ellard’s first season at Liberty, he has posted a 2.10 ERA and leads the Flames with six saves and 21 appearances. He has struck out 50 and walked 10 in 34.1 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .163 batting average.
Liberty’s lead-off hitter, Betts finished the regular season with a .343 batting average, 22 RBIs, and a team-best 48 runs scored in 47 games. The sophomore catcher has 12 doubles, four triples, and four home runs to go along with a .459 on base percentage.
Wagner was named to his second ASUN All-Conference First-Team as he was also selected to the 2019 ASUN all-conference first-team. Wagner is hitting .337 with a team best 44 RBIs and 27 runs scored in 43 games this season. He has 12 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs and was named ASUN Player of the Week on April 19.
In Anderson’s first season at Liberty, he currently leads the team with a .348 batting to go along with 37 RBIs and 33 runs scored. He is the only Liberty player with 100 bases as he leads the team with 19 multi-hit games. His 17 doubles leads the ASUN and ranks seventh in the country. He is also tied for the conference lead with 65 hits.
McDyre has hit .267 this season with 23 RBIs and 33 runs scored in 45 games played. Gulakowski has hit .318 with 23 RBIs and 30 runs scored in 38 games. He leads the ASUN with a .636 slugging percentage and is teid for sixth in home runs with eight.
Pitcher Nick Willard joined Gibson on the ASUN All-Freshman team. He has spent time as both a starter and out of the bullpen in his first collegiate season. The Liberty right-hander has made 10 appearances with four starts while posting a 2-1 record with a 2.66 ERA over 20.1 innings.
The only major ASUN award Liberty did not secure was the ASUN Player of the Year which was awarded to North Florida’s first baseman Alex Kachler.
