Four Eagles Earn D1Baseball Preseason Recognition
2/14/2023 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
Ledford, Sherrill, Fisher, and Thompson earn spots on the publication's preseason player rankings
STATESBORO - Four Eagles earned spots on D1Baseball's preseason player rankings over the course of the previous week. The Eagles had two position players in Noah Ledford and Jesse Sherrill and two pitchers in Ty Fisher and Jay Thompson recognized.
Noah Ledford was labelled as D1Baseball's No. 12 top first baseman in the nation after being named the Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year. Ledford earned the recognition after having a career season with honors coming from two All-American awards (ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA), an All-Southeast Region honor, All-SBC First Team honor, and a Statesboro Regional All-Tournament Team honor. Ledford had career-highs in runs (47), hits (79), doubles (19), home runs (17), and RBI (70). His 70 RBI was the most in the SBC. Ledford batted a career-high .348 and slugged .665, as well as having a career high in walks (37) for an OBP of .444. Ledford had his first career grand slam against #20 Georgia at SRP Park on 3/8.
Jesse Sherrill was named D1Baseball's 21st-best second baseman in the nation off the heels of earning his first Preseason All-SBC honor after earning ABCA All-Southeast Region honors, All-SBC First Team honors, and SBC All-Tournament Team honors in 2022. Sherrill also lead the team in batting average with .361 in 2022, along with runs scored (62) and stolen bases (13), tied for first in hits (79) and tied for first in HBP (17). Sherrill had hits in 10 of the final 11 games for the Eagles, including a nine-game hitting streak.
Ty Fisher was named D1Baseball's 116th-best starting pitcher after he carried a team-low 2.58 ERA, going 6-2 in 14 appearances. Fisher pitched a complete game shutout to open the Statesboro Regional for the Eagles against UNCG on June 3, which was the third complete game of his career and his first for the Blue and White. Fisher finished the season with 60 strikeouts, the third-most on the team. Fisher was named one of the two pitchers named to the Statesboro Regional All-Tournament Team.
Jay Thompson was named D1Baseball's 40th-best relief pitcher after leading the nation in innings pitched by a reliever with 76. Thompson made a conference-leading 37 appearances, which was also tied for third in the nation. He had the second-highest amount of strikeouts on the team with 63, only one behind the team-leading 64 from Jaylen Paden. Thompson held a 7-4 record at the end of the season with a team-high six saves, posting a 3.91 ERA.
The Eagles will open the season on Friday, Feb. 17 as the team welcomes the West Virginia Mountaineers in for Opening Weekend. First pitch for Friday's game is set for 6:30 PM. Single game tickets are currently on sale at GSEagles.com/tickets.
Noah Ledford was labelled as D1Baseball's No. 12 top first baseman in the nation after being named the Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year. Ledford earned the recognition after having a career season with honors coming from two All-American awards (ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA), an All-Southeast Region honor, All-SBC First Team honor, and a Statesboro Regional All-Tournament Team honor. Ledford had career-highs in runs (47), hits (79), doubles (19), home runs (17), and RBI (70). His 70 RBI was the most in the SBC. Ledford batted a career-high .348 and slugged .665, as well as having a career high in walks (37) for an OBP of .444. Ledford had his first career grand slam against #20 Georgia at SRP Park on 3/8.
Jesse Sherrill was named D1Baseball's 21st-best second baseman in the nation off the heels of earning his first Preseason All-SBC honor after earning ABCA All-Southeast Region honors, All-SBC First Team honors, and SBC All-Tournament Team honors in 2022. Sherrill also lead the team in batting average with .361 in 2022, along with runs scored (62) and stolen bases (13), tied for first in hits (79) and tied for first in HBP (17). Sherrill had hits in 10 of the final 11 games for the Eagles, including a nine-game hitting streak.
Ty Fisher was named D1Baseball's 116th-best starting pitcher after he carried a team-low 2.58 ERA, going 6-2 in 14 appearances. Fisher pitched a complete game shutout to open the Statesboro Regional for the Eagles against UNCG on June 3, which was the third complete game of his career and his first for the Blue and White. Fisher finished the season with 60 strikeouts, the third-most on the team. Fisher was named one of the two pitchers named to the Statesboro Regional All-Tournament Team.
Jay Thompson was named D1Baseball's 40th-best relief pitcher after leading the nation in innings pitched by a reliever with 76. Thompson made a conference-leading 37 appearances, which was also tied for third in the nation. He had the second-highest amount of strikeouts on the team with 63, only one behind the team-leading 64 from Jaylen Paden. Thompson held a 7-4 record at the end of the season with a team-high six saves, posting a 3.91 ERA.
The Eagles will open the season on Friday, Feb. 17 as the team welcomes the West Virginia Mountaineers in for Opening Weekend. First pitch for Friday's game is set for 6:30 PM. Single game tickets are currently on sale at GSEagles.com/tickets.
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