2017 All-MEAC Baseball Teams

NORFOLK Va. – The Norfolk State baseball team picked up two of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's top yearly awards Tuesday, as junior Alex Mauricio was named MEAC Player of the Year and senior Devin Hemmerich was voted Pitcher of the Year, the conference announced.

Mauricio and Hemmerich headline NSU's five All-MEAC selections in voting done by the MEAC head baseball coaches and sports information directors. Those two along with senior outfielder Brian Beard were voted to the All-MEAC first team, while sophomore pitcher Chase Anderson was selected to the second team and junior third baseman Justin Burrell earned a spot on the third team.

Mauricio becomes NSU's first-ever MEAC Player of the Year award winner. Hemmerich's selection, meanwhile, gives the Spartans three straight Pitcher of the Year winners, as Matt Outman achieved the feat in 2015 and 2016. This year marks the first time since Delaware State in 2009 that one school has boasted the conference's top player and top pitcher in the same season. That year, Ross Babineaux (player) and Dan Perkins (pitcher) earned DSU that distinction. 

Mauricio, one of nine semifinalists for the John Olerud National Two-Way Player of the Year Award, has distinguished himself at the plate and on the mound. He finished the regular season as the MEAC leader in slugging percentage (.573), ranked second in batting average (.374), tied for second in doubles (17) and was fourth in on-base percentage (.457). He also has three triples, one homer and 25 RBI in addition to 11 stolen bases and a .982 fielding percentage while spending most of his time at either first or second base.

On the mound, Mauricio has been a key cog in the Spartans' weekend rotation, posting a 4-3 record with a 3.28 ERA. He has 55 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched over 10 starts. As a pitcher, Mauricio is fourth in the conference in lowest opponents' batting average (.227) and ninth in strikeouts. He was a two-time MEAC Player of the Week during the season.

Hemmerich has rewritten the NSU pitching record book this season. A five-time MEAC Pitcher of the Week honoree during the year, Hemmerich (9-2) leads the MEAC with nine wins, 111 strikeouts, a 1.74 ERA, six complete games and a .191 opponents' batting average. This year, he has set new NSU records for strikeouts in a season and career (308) and has tied the school mark for career wins, with 23 entering this week's conference tournament. 

Hemmerich was also named a College Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week for May 1 following his second one-hit shutout of the year, against Delaware State on April 29. He also posted a one-hitter against Towson on March 12. Hemmerich posted a 7-0 ledger with a 1.17 ERA and six double-digit strikeouts games in eight starts against MEAC competition this year. 

Beard finished the regular season with a .335 batting average, 10 doubles, four triples, 23 RBI and a team-high 18 stolen bases. He has started at every position this year except catcher and shortstop, which includes four starts and 10 total appearances as a pitcher. He made his mark as a versatile position player, however, tying for the MEAC lead in stolen bases, ranking second in triples and tied for seventh in hits (57). Beard also became NSU's first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-District baseball selection earlier in the year and was named MEAC Player of the Week one time.

Anderson logged a 5-2 record with a 2.49 ERA in 17 appearances, 13 of which came out of the bullpen. He was voted to the All-MEAC second team as a reliever. Anderson ranks second behind only Hemmerich among MEAC pitchers in both ERA and strikeouts (72 in 68.2 innings pitched). He also pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts in a win over William & Mary in one of his four starts.

Burrell started 43 of NSU's 44 games at third base this season, his first year on the diamond since 2014. Burrell was fourth on the team with a .325 average while leading the team with 29 runs batted in. He has nine doubles, three triples and one home run and also swiped 11 bases. He ranked fifth in the MEAC in triples and was among the top 20 in batting.

The MEAC's other top awards went to North Carolina Central second baseman Corey Joyce (Rookie of the Year) and North Carolina A&T's Ben Hall (Coach of the Year).

The Spartans (24-20) open play in the 2017 MEAC Baseball Championship Thursday at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday's North Carolina A&T vs. Maryland Eastern Shore contest.