WESTHAMPTON, N.Y. - Campbell University rising senior Alex Aycoth led the Westhampton Aviators to the 2009 Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League title. The Aviators defeated the Jersey Pilots 7-5 in the Aug. 7 title contest.
Westhampton earned the second seed in the Kaiser Division playoffs and knocked off Southampton 16-0 in the semifinals. It was on the brink of elimination when the North Fork Ospreys took Game 1 of their best-of-three series but the Aviators struck back with 9-2 and 7-1 wins to reach the final.
In the championship game, Westhampton faced a 3-0 deficit after the top half of the first inning before rallying.
Aycoth went 3-for-3 to cap an excellent postseason, when he batted .556 (10-of-18) in the five games, four of which were Westhampton wins.
On the season, Aycoth led his team with a .336 batting average, while collecting six doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI in 36 games. He ranked third in the league with a .455 on-base percentage (thanks to 20 walks and six HBP).
During the 2009 season for the Camels, Aycoth hit .297 with 12 doubles, one home run 50 RBI and 38 runs scored while starting 46 of CU's 51 games, primarily at third base.
Aycoth was joined by seven other Camels in summer league action.
Chris Bangi, Jeff Rydman, Dan Gardo and Bryan Braswell played in the Northwoods League, while Zach Johnson, Ellis Lowe and Hunter Ford competed in the Coastal Plain League.
Bangi joined the Battle Creek (Mich.) Bombers midway through the year and posted a .404 on-base percentage in 36 games. He scored 20 runs and stole six bases, while walking 27 times and taking first base six occasions after being hit by a pitch. He finished with a .231 batting average.
Last spring, Bangi was plunked 30 times (0.65 per game), most in Division I. The Jacksonville, Fla., native also had 18 steals in 46 games. The rising senior ranked first in the Atlantic Sun Conference and sixth in the country with a .538 on-base percentage.
Rydman finished the 2009 summer season with a 1-2 won-lost record and 3.19 earned-run average for the Duluth (Minn.) Huskies. He totaled 24 strikeouts and only four walks in 42.1 innings pitched.
The Gladstone, Mo., product and transfer from Fort Scott Community College produced a 5-1 pitching record and team-leading 5.43 earned-run average for the Camels as a junior last spring.
Bryan Braswell and Dan Gardo played with the Wisconsin Woodchucks. Braswell batted .143 with one RBI in seven games. Last spring with the Camels, the catcher from Rocky Mount, N.C., hit career highs in batting (.318), home runs (2) and RBI (15) in 28 games for the Camels.
A left-handed hurler from West Chester, Pa., Gardo made 20 appearance (one start) for the Woodchucks and owned a 0-2 record with a 4.21 ERA in 40.2 frames.
As a sophomore for the Camels in 2009, Gardo compiled a 1-4 record with two saves and an 8.37 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched.
Zach Johnson and Ellis Lowe played with the Wilson Tobs of the CPL.
Johnson started all 40 of the games he played and finished with eight doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI. In addition, the native of Smithfield, N.C., had a .243 batting average with 24 runs and 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts.
Last spring with the Camels, Johnson led the nation in doubles (29) and was second to teammate Ryan Hamme in doubles per game (0.57), while rating 10th among Atlantic Sun Conference hitters with a .380 batting mark. His .705 slugging percentage stood fourth in the league. He also had 12 home runs and 61 RBI in 51 contests.
Lowe played in 32 games with 31 starts for the Tobs. The second baseman from San Marcos, Calif., batted .250 with 11 runs, three doubles, eight RBI and nine steals (in 13 attempts).
Following the 2009 season, Lowe was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-South Region second team. He batted .404 and led the Atlantic Sun Conference with 69 runs scored during the 2009 season. A second-team All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection, the sophomore ranked third among A-Sun leaders with a .404 batting average and 90 hits. He was tied for fifth with eight triples, ranked sixth in RBI (62), seventh in stolen bases (16) and ninth in on-base percentage (.456).
In addition, Lowe hit career highs for doubles (14) and home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.561), while starting all 51 games for the Camels. He ranked 18th in the country in runs scored per game (1.35). In addition, he earned A-Sun All-Academic team honors.
Left-handed pitcher Hunter Ford played with his hometown Wilmington (N.C.) Sharks in the Coastal Plain League. In 16 appearances (two starts), Ford fashioned a 1-3 won-lost record with two saves and a 6.17 ERA.
In 19 appearances for the Camels as a junior in 2009, Ford notched a 4-2 record with a 7.38 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched.
Campbell again ranked among the nation's most potent offenses during 2009. At the end of the regular season, the Fighting Camels stood among the nation's top-10 teams in nine different categories and posted the program's first winning record (27-24) since 2001.
Campbell's non-conference victories included a 12-8 triumph at 19th-ranked East Carolina, plus back-to-back wins on the road (7-4) and at home (16-7) over N.C. State in early May.
The Camels broke the school record for stolen bases in a year (117) set by the 2008 team. With 117 thefts in 51 games, the Camels not only led the Atlantic Sun Conference, but ranked eighth among all 288 Division I members. In fact, Campbell swiped more bags than any other A-Sun school attempted.
Courtesy: Will Bratton