Panther standouts recognized

Published 2:45 pm Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

It was another fantastic season for the LaGrange College baseball team, and a handful of the players who were driving forces behind that success have been recognized for their good work.

On Tuesday, D3baseball.com released its All-South Region team, and Cael Chatham and Joe Ruth were second-team selections.

Chatham was second on the team with a .365 batting average, and he had a team-lead eight home runs with 37 RBIs and 43 runs scored in 33 games.

Ruth hit .355 and started all 34 games, and he hit four home runs with 39 RBIs.

Also coming out Monday was the ABCA/Rawlings South All-Region team, and Ruth was a first-team honoree.

Chatham and McKinley Erves were second-team picks, and Jack Layrisson, E.J. Churchich and Baley Coleman made the third team.

Erves hit .355 and had a team-best .463 on-base percentage after walking 19 times and getting hit by a pitch six times, and he had three home runs, 33 RBIs, and 43 runs scored.

Churchich hit .333 with seven home runs and a team-leading 43 RBIs, and he had 11 doubles.

Layrisson hit .336 with five home runs and 28 RBIs, and he had a .437 on-base percentage after walking a team-best 26 times.

Coleman was LaGrange College’s top starting pitcher with an 8-4 record and a 3.31 earned run average, and he was the starting pitcher in 13 of the team’s 34 games.

The Panthers were also well-represented on the all-USA South team, which isn’t surprising considering they won the conference championship for a fourth straight season.

Chatham, Erves and Ruth were all first-team selections, while Coleman and Trey Pearce made the West division first team.

Pearce led the Panthers with a .368 batting average, and he had four home runs and 39 RBIs.

Churchich, Layrisson, Spencer Douches, Rhett Hebert and Rhett Mixon made the West division second team.

Douches was an outstanding relief pitcher for the Panthers, posting a 2-2 record with six saves and a 3.45 ERA while leading the team with 18 appearances.

Hebert boasted a .339 batting average while driving in 19 runs, and Mixon hit .333 with one home run and 14 RBIs.

OF NOTE: For more, go to lagrangepanthers.com