Rocha Named Pitcher of the Year Among Five Lancers Honored with All-Conference Awards
5/22/2023 4:05:00 PM | Baseball
The Western Athletic Conference announced conference awards on Tuesday afternoon, recognizing five Lancers. Dustin Garcia, Mitchel Simon, and Michael Carpentier were all named to the All-WAC Second Team, while Garret Ostrander was recognized as an All-Defensive team member. Most notably, Liam Rocha was named Pitcher of the Year for his outstanding season on the mound. This is Simon's second All-WAC honor in his career and a first for Rocha, Ostrander, Carpentier, and Garcia.
Ostrander has been one of the most consistent players for the Lancers this season, holding a nearly perfect regular season from left field. The junior had 85 putouts from the outfield and 19 assists, with just a single error across 53 games. This is Ostrander's first award in his career.
Garcia caught fire in the batter's box from the start of the season for California Baptist, hitting .259 and slugging .657. The outfielder leads the team in home runs this season at 19, breaking the Division I era CBU record against GCU and is ranked in the top 50 for home runs in NCAA Division I baseball. Garcia also tallied 13 doubles and five triples at the plate across his 55 starts. The senior stepped up as a leader in the outfield, collecting 89 putouts and four assists. Garcia was also named WAC Hitter of the Week for his performances against USD and Seattle University this season.
Simon takes home his second All-WAC Second Team honor during his career at CBU after another fantastic season from the junior. The third baseman was relied on heavily this season by the Lancer coaching staff and rose to the occasion, collecting 17 home runs and 20 doubles this season from the batter's box. Simon also accumulated 44 putouts and 93 assists from the left line, coming up with big-time plays in crucial moments for the Lancers this season.
Carpentier rounds out the All-WAC Second Team awards for California Baptist, as the junior had a solid season behind the plate. Carpentier found himself with the second-highest batting average for the Lancers at .324 after gaining momentum in the last few weeks of the regular season. The junior holds 17 doubles and eight home runs on the year, along with 32 RBI. Carpentier also amassed 401 putouts and led the conference by catching the most runners stealing. This is the first award in Carpentier's CBU career.
Rocha's outstanding junior season from the mound has broken records and already earned him three WAC Pitcher of the Week honors, but to be named WAC Pitcher of the Year is the cherry on top. From the first eight strikeouts, he threw against Oklahoma during the preseason, the right-handed pitcher never slowed down and even surpassed the single-season Division I era strikeout record against Abilene Christian. The junior currently holds 99 Ks on the season, leading the WAC and ranked 27 in NCAA Division I baseball. Rocha also holds the lowest ERA in the WAC at 3.05 while maintaining a 1.17 WHIP and a perfect 6-0 record. The right-handed pitcher has also been nationally recognized this year and was named #62 in the Top 100 Starting Pitchers by Division I Baseball earlier this season. In addition to the POTY honor, Rocha was also named to the All-WAC First Team.
This is Gary Adcock's second time earning a Pitcher of the Year award during CBU's time in the Western Athletic Conference. Adcock has amassed 25 All-WAC team awards and five major WAC awards in the last five seasons.
Ostrander has been one of the most consistent players for the Lancers this season, holding a nearly perfect regular season from left field. The junior had 85 putouts from the outfield and 19 assists, with just a single error across 53 games. This is Ostrander's first award in his career.
Garcia caught fire in the batter's box from the start of the season for California Baptist, hitting .259 and slugging .657. The outfielder leads the team in home runs this season at 19, breaking the Division I era CBU record against GCU and is ranked in the top 50 for home runs in NCAA Division I baseball. Garcia also tallied 13 doubles and five triples at the plate across his 55 starts. The senior stepped up as a leader in the outfield, collecting 89 putouts and four assists. Garcia was also named WAC Hitter of the Week for his performances against USD and Seattle University this season.
Simon takes home his second All-WAC Second Team honor during his career at CBU after another fantastic season from the junior. The third baseman was relied on heavily this season by the Lancer coaching staff and rose to the occasion, collecting 17 home runs and 20 doubles this season from the batter's box. Simon also accumulated 44 putouts and 93 assists from the left line, coming up with big-time plays in crucial moments for the Lancers this season.
Carpentier rounds out the All-WAC Second Team awards for California Baptist, as the junior had a solid season behind the plate. Carpentier found himself with the second-highest batting average for the Lancers at .324 after gaining momentum in the last few weeks of the regular season. The junior holds 17 doubles and eight home runs on the year, along with 32 RBI. Carpentier also amassed 401 putouts and led the conference by catching the most runners stealing. This is the first award in Carpentier's CBU career.
Rocha's outstanding junior season from the mound has broken records and already earned him three WAC Pitcher of the Week honors, but to be named WAC Pitcher of the Year is the cherry on top. From the first eight strikeouts, he threw against Oklahoma during the preseason, the right-handed pitcher never slowed down and even surpassed the single-season Division I era strikeout record against Abilene Christian. The junior currently holds 99 Ks on the season, leading the WAC and ranked 27 in NCAA Division I baseball. Rocha also holds the lowest ERA in the WAC at 3.05 while maintaining a 1.17 WHIP and a perfect 6-0 record. The right-handed pitcher has also been nationally recognized this year and was named #62 in the Top 100 Starting Pitchers by Division I Baseball earlier this season. In addition to the POTY honor, Rocha was also named to the All-WAC First Team.
This is Gary Adcock's second time earning a Pitcher of the Year award during CBU's time in the Western Athletic Conference. Adcock has amassed 25 All-WAC team awards and five major WAC awards in the last five seasons.
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