NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2023 Baseball postseason honors on Monday afternoon and Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Sam Armstrong have been named to the All-Conference First and Second Teams, respectively. The awards and All-Conference Teams were voted upon by the league's 14 head coaches.
A junior infielder who transferred to ODU from Florida Southwestern State College, Fitz-Gerald led the Monarchs and was second in the Sun Belt with 22 home runs. He finished the regular season with four multi-home run games, 22 multi-hit games, and 21 multi-RBI games. He also had a 13-game hit streak and a 16-game reached base streak. Fitz-Gerald hit .320 and was second in the league in total bases (150), third in RBIs (70), sixth in slugging percentage (.667), tied for eighth in hits (72) and was 10th in runs scored (56). He was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Feb. 28, was a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on March 6, and a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist on May 19.
A junior from Wantage, New Jersey, Armstrong owns a 9-3 record and a 3.47 ERA in 14 starts for the Monarchs this season. He recorded 68 strikeouts while allowing 31 runs (28 earned) on 63 hits and 27 walks through 72.2 innings pitched. Armstrong finished fourth in the Sun Belt in wins and fifth in batting average against (.231). He earned a win in five straight outings and was 6-0 through his first eight starts. Armstrong struck out a season-high 12 batters on Feb. 26 against Fordham, allowing one unearned run on four hits without issuing a walk in a six-inning start. He then tossed seven shutout innings against St. Joseph's on March 4, scattering five hits with one walk while striking out eight.
Troy's Shane Lewis was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year as well as the Newcomer of the Year. Southern Miss' Tanner Hall was voted Pitcher of the Year, Coastal Carolina's Caden Bodine was tabbed Freshman of the Year, and Georgia Southern's JP Tighe earned the Tony Robichaux Leadership Award. CCU head coach Gary Gilmore was selected Coach of the Year.
2023 Sun Belt Baseball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year – Shane Lewis, Troy
Pitcher of the Year – Tanner Hall, Southern Miss
Newcomer of the Year – Shane Lewis, Troy
Freshman of the Year – Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award – JP Tighe, Georgia Southern
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year – Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina
All-Sun Belt First Team
P – Xander Hamilton, App State (Jr., P – Raleigh, N.C.)
P – Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Jr., P – Zachary, La.)
P – Grayson Stewart, Troy (RS So., P – Dothan, Ala.)
RP – Teddy Sharkey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., RP – Wall, N.J.)
C – Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (Fr., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
1B – Hunter Fitz-Gerald, Old Dominion (Jr., 1B – Margate, Fla.)
2B – Jesse Sherrill, Georgia Southern (Sr., 2B – Pensacola, Fla.)
SS – Dustin Dickerson, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Laurel, Miss.)
3B – Caleb Bartolero, Troy (Sr., 3B – Woodstock, Ga.)
OF – CJ Boyd, App State (So., OF – Lewisville, N.C.)
OF – Nick Lucky, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., OF – Denver, Pa.)
OF – Shane Lewis, Troy (RS So., OF – Vicksburg, Miss.)
UT – Cameron Jones, Georgia State (Jr., UT – Kathleen, Ga.)
DH – Derek Bender, Coastal Carolina (So., DH – Murrells Inlet, S.C.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P – Ryan Watson, Georgia State (Sr., P – Sugar Hill, Ga.)
P – Sam Armstrong, Old Dominion (Jr., P – Wantage, N.J.)
P – Levi Wells, Texas State (Jr. P – La Porte, Texas)
RP – Noah Manning, Troy (Jr., RP – Minooka, Ill.)
C – Julian Brock, Louisiana (Jr., C. – Fulshear, Texas)
1B – Zack Beach, Coastal Carolina (Sr., 1B – Mechanicsville, Va.)
2B – Payton Eeles, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., 2B – Acworth, Ga.)
SS – Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (So., SS – Kinder, La.)
3B – Danny Lynch, Southern Miss (Sr., 3B – Jupiter, Fla.)
OF – Graham Brown, Coastal Carolina (Sr., OF – Middletown, Md.)
OF – Fenwick Trimble, James Madison (So., OF – Virginia Beach, Va.)
OF – Will Turner, South Alabama (So., OF – Auburn, Ala.)
UT – Jack Cone, James Madison (Gr., UT – Fairfax Station, Va.)
DH – Max Ryerson, Georgia State (Sr., DH – Conway, S.C.)
Fitz-Gerald and Armstrong Represent ODU Baseball on All-Sun Belt Teams
