SoCon Baseball Coaches Select All-Conference Team - SoConSports.com—Official Web Site of The Southern Conference

Leeds, Wojciechowski earn Player and Pitcher of the Year honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Citadel junior right-hander Asher Wojciechowski has been voted the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year while College of Charleston sophomore third baseman Matt Leeds has been honored as the Player of the Year. The league’s 11 head coaches also selected two all-conference teams and an all-freshman team.

The Citadel head coach Fred Jordan, who guided the Bulldogs to the Southern Conference regular season crown, was chosen by his peers as Coach of the Year while Furman second baseman Will Muzika was tabbed Freshman of the Year.

College of Charleston led the way with six all-conference selections while Elon had four. League champion The Citadel placed three players on the all-conference teams, along with Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Samford.

Wojciechowski was the SoCon’s only 10-game winner during the regular season, fashioning a 10-2 overall mark to go along with a 3.23 ERA. The junior paced the SoCon and ranks second nationally with 128 strikeouts on the year, and he also topped the league in innings pitched (103.0) and opponents batting average (.218). Wojciechowski fanned at least nine batters in nine of his 14 starts while registering three complete games.

Leeds provided the power in the middle of the order for the conference’s most potent offense. The sophomore batted .340 for the regular season while pacing the league with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. Leeds had a pair of multi-homer games, and he drove in more than one run 21 times in 56 starts. In addition to his home runs, Leeds also belted 22 doubles, scored 57 runs and recorded a .730 slugging percentage.

Joining Wojciechowski and Leeds on the all-conference first team was a trio of Elon players in starting pitcher Jimmy Reyes, catcher Mike Melillo and shortstop Neal Pritchard.

Appalachian State’s Chris Patterson and Wes Hobson earned first team honors along with Georgia Southern first baseman Kyle Blackburn, Samford outfielder David Schulze, Wofford designated hitter Mac Doyle and the College of Charleston outfield duo of Cole Rakar and Jose Rodriguez.

Muzika paced Furman in hitting all season, batting .330 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. The second baseman earned a start in all but one game during his rookie campaign, and he led the Paladins with 72 hits and 124 total bases, in addition to the homers and RBIs. Muzika has already etched his name in the Furman record books, entering the school’s top 10 single season lists in hits, home runs, RBIs, at bats and total bases.

Jordan was honored as Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches for the third time. After being predicted to finish third by the coaches and fourth by the media in the preseason, Jordan’s Bulldogs started 2010 by winning their first 10 conference games of the season. The Citadel led the conference from start to finish, recording the program’s first regular season championship since 2002 and earning the top seed in this week’s SoCon Baseball Championship.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

2010 SoCon Baseball All-Conference Team

Player of the Year – Matt Leeds, So., 3B, College of Charleston

Pitcher of the Year – Asher Wojciechowski, Jr., RHP, The Citadel

Freshman of the Year – Will Muzika, Fr., 2B, Furman

Coach of the Year – Fred Jordan, The Citadel

First Team

SP Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel

SP Jimmy Reyes, Elon

RP Chris Patterson, Appalachian State

C Mike Melillo, Elon

1B Kyle Blackburn, Georgia Southern