University of Richmond Athletics
Four Spider Baseball Players Earn All-Region Honors
06/19/2012 | Baseball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Four University of Richmond Spider baseball players were named to the 2012 ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region team. Senior Chris Cowell (C) was named to the first team, while senior Phil Ruzbarsky (OF), junior Jacob Mayers (DH), and freshman Zak Sterling (SP) were all named to the second team.
"It's terrific to see four of our players get recognized with All-East Region honors," Spider head coach Mark McQueen said. "Each player had an outstanding season and for our team to have the most of any school on the two squads speaks well of what we were able to accomplish this season."
The four All-East Region winners were Richmond's first since 2006 and the four honorees are the most since five earned the award following the 2002 campaign. Richmond had the most players on the two All-East Region teams with four.
After posting some of the most impressive power numbers in the country in 2012, Cowell earned First-Team All-East region honors for the first time in his career. The First-Team All-Atlantic 10 catcher hit .271 on the season for the Spiders, leading the conference and ranking second in the country with 20 home runs. The Devon, Pa., native also clubbed a team-best 18 doubles and drove in 58 runs.
A standout at the plate and on the mound, Mayers was named Second-Team All-East Region. Mayers hit .339 this season with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 48 RBIs, while posting a 6-3 record as a starting pitcher. The Mechanicsville, Va., product was the Friday starter for the Spiders most of the season, striking out 82 batters in a team-high 83.1 innings pitched.
The accolades keep rolling in for Sterling, who posted a terrific freshman season for Richmond. A Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Sterling was named second-team all-region. The Salisbury, Md., native went 7-1 on the year with a 2.57 ERA. Sterling led the A-10 in opponent batting average, limiting opponents to hit just .181.
Rounding out the trio of Spiders on the Second-Team All-East Region team was Ruzbarsky. The Westminster, Md., native played a stellar right field for Richmond while hitting .332 on the season with 13 doubles and 10 home runs. The senior also drove in 39 runs while placing second in the conference with a .447 on-base percentage.
For all the latest on Richmond Spiders baseball, go to RichmondSpiders.com or follow the team on Twitter - @SpiderBaseball.
