CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Three players from the High Point University baseball team earned All-Big South honors the conference announced on Monday. Junior Chris Clare was named first-team All-Conference and both senior Dominic Fazio and freshman Andrew Gottfried were named to the second team.
Senior Tyler Britton was also honored by the conference as a member of the Big South All-Academic Team.
Clare leads High Point with a .363 batting average, 77 hits and 38 runs scored. The junior ranks fifth in the Big South in batting average, tied for fifth in hits and tied for 10th in doubles. He ranked seventh in the league with a .386 average in conference games and a league-high 39 hits. Clare recorded a hit in all but seven games and was held hitless in just two conference games.
“Chris Clare has had an outstanding year and him making first-team All-Conference is a testament to his growth as a player of three years,” head coach Craig Cozart
Fazio finished second on the team with a .317 batting average and he leads the squad with 39 RBI, 16 doubles, and 35 walks. Fazio is ninth in the Big South in on-base percentage, tied for sixth in walks and tied for eighth in doubles. The senior excelled in conference games, ranking ninth in the Big South in batting average, sixth in slugging percentage and fourth in on-base percentage.
“Dominic Fazio making second-team All-Conference in his senior season is a tremendous story,” Cozart said. “He has been a presence in the middle of the order for us all season and shored up a question mark we had entering the season at third base.”
Gottfried enjoyed a successful first college season, finishing 6-4 with a 2.66 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 64-1/3 innings pitched. He led the Panthers in ERA and is tied for second in wins. Gottfried ranks fifth in the Big South in ERA and ninth in opposing batting average. He won four games in Big South play, including three games in which he went at least seven innings and allowed one or fewer runs.
“Andrew Gottfried being named second-team All-Conference as a freshman is a tremendous credit to his ability and competitiveness,” Cozart said. “He has been fantastic for us as part of our weekend rotation and we are proud that he has been recognized for his efforts.”
Britton graduated from High Point with a 3.73 GPA in Business Administration. He appeared in 18 games for the Panthers in 2016 and finished with a 6-1 record and four saves. The right-hander posted a 3.04 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 53-1/3 innings of work and held opponents to a team-low .225 batting average.
“Tyler Britton has been our go-to guy out of the bullpen and has performed very well in that role this season,” Cozart said. “He has excelled in the classroom as well during his time at High Point and I am glad that he is being recognized for that.”
High Point has earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big South Tournament, the highest seed earned by the Panthers since joining the conference in 2000. The team will face off with No. 7 Liberty in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, May 24, in Lexington, S.C. The game between the Panthers and Flames will be the first of the day and will begin at 9:30 a.m.
2016 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE OF Connor Owings, Sr., Coastal Carolina OF D.J. Artis, Fr., Liberty OF Danny Sullivan, Jr., Gardner-Webb INF Zach Remillard, Sr., Coastal Carolina INF Collin Thacker, Jr., Gardner-Webb INF Chris Clare, Jr., High Point INF Matt Parrish, Sr., Campbell C Justin Kunz, Fr., Gardner-Webb UTL Andrew Yacyk, Jr., Liberty DH G.K. Young, Jr., Coastal Carolina SP Andrew Beckwith, Jr., Coastal Carolina SP Brad Haymes, Sr., Gardner-Webb SP Travis Burnette, Sr., Longwood RP Mike Morrison, Sr., Coastal Carolina SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE OF Anthony Paulsen, Jr., Winthrop OF Weston Jackson, R-Jr., Presbyterian College OF Joe Tietjen, Jr., UNC Asheville INF Michael Paez, Jr., Coastal Carolina INF Dominic Fazio, Sr., High Point INF Danny Hrbek, Jr., Radford INF Connar Bastaich, Sr., Longwood C Roger Gonzalez, Sr., Winthrop UTL Kevin Hickey, Sr., Charleston Southern DH Alex Lewis, Jr., Longwood SP Grant Yost, Sr., Campbell SP Alex Cunningham, R-Jr., Coastal Carolina SP Andrew Gottfried, Fr., High Point RP Wil Sellers, R-Soph., Gardner-Webb HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE OF Billy Cooke, Soph., Coastal Carolina INF Anthony Lopez, Sr., Campbell SP Jeremy Walker, Jr., Gardner-Webb INF Mark Lowrie, Sr., Winthrop OF Sly Edwards, Sr., Charleston Southern ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM Matt Parrish, Sr., Campbell Daniel Johnson, Soph., Charleston Southern Tyler Chadwick, Sr., Coastal Carolina Patrick Graham, Sr., Gardner-Webb Tyler Britton, Sr., High Point Andrew Yacyk, Jr., Liberty Michael Catlin, Soph., Longwood AJ Priaulx, Soph., Presbyterian College Tyler Swarmer, Sr., Radford Joe Tietjen, Jr., UNC Asheville Zach Cook, Sr., Winthrop PLAYER OF THE YEAR Connor Owings, OF, Sr., Coastal Carolina PITCHER OF THE YEAR Andrew Beckwith, RHP, Jr., Coastal Carolina FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR D.J. Artis, OF, Fr., Liberty COACH OF THE YEAR Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Patrick Graham, 1B, Sr., Gardner-Webb