SUWANEE, Ga. - The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) was well represented when D3baseball.com released its inaugural All-Region teams today. All-South Region | All-West Region
Birmingham-Southern College junior catcher Bruce Maxwell was selected as South Region Player-of-the-Year and Trinity University senior pitcher Ben Klimesh was named West Region Pitcher-of-the-Year.
In that same balloting, Birmingham-Southern head coach Jan Weisberg was voted South Region Coach-of-the-Year.
All told, the SCAC had 13 selections to the D3baseball.com All-Region teams. Trinity University led the way with six selections while Birmingham-Southern had four honorees. Hendrix College had two selections to the 2012 All-Region team while Oglethorpe University picked up one All-South Region nod.
Players were nominated for the All-Region awards by the sports information directors at the various schools.
Maxwell earned South Region Player of the Year and First Team All-South honors after helping to guide the Panthers to their first-ever SCAC baseball championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III South Regional. The junior from Toney, Ala., currently leads the SCAC with a .497 batting average (.486 is the SCAC single-season record) and also leads the league in homeruns (15), doubles (25), runs scored (55), total bases (141), slugging percentage (.686), on-base percentage (.637) and walks (55 - new SCAC single-season record). He is third in runs batted in (48) and second in hits (71).
Klimesh, a senior right-hander from Wilmette, Ill., leads the SCAC in innings pitched (106.2), strikeouts (154), complete games (9) and wins (13). His 154 strikeouts established a new school and SCAC single-season record. Klimesh has also set school records with 365 career strikeouts (also the SCAC mark) and 31 career wins. His 1.60 ERA is currently second in the SCAC behind his teammate Ryan Lucero. The SCAC Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2011 and 2012, Klimesh became the first pitcher to win that award in consecutive seasons since Rhodes College's Robert Flanagan in 2006 and 2007.
Weisberg led Birmingham-Southern to the 2012 SCAC Baseball title in the program's first year to be eligible for the championship. After sweeping through the conference tournament, the Panthers earned the top seed in the Central Regional and earned a return trip to Millington, Tenn., after winning the SCAC title on the same field just three weeks prior. And after victories over Illinois Wesleyan University and Emory University, the 37-7 Panthers are just one win shy of playing for the Central Regional championship and a berth in the Division III World Series in Appleton, Wisconson.
Joining Maxwell on the All-South Region First Team is his teamate, junior pitcher Blake Yance, as well as senior second basebman Jake Spear of Oglethorpe.
Sophomore outfielder Austin Justice and first-year pitcher Blake Stevens - both of Birmingham-Southern - were named to the All-South Third Team.
In the West Region, Klimesh was joined on the First Team by teammate, junior pitcher Ryan Lucero.
Earning All-West Region Second Team honors was senior shortstop Clark Sims of Hendrix and a trio of Trinity players - sophomore shortstop Christian Muscarello, senior outfielder Nick Pappas and senior designated hitter Dominic Robusto.
Junior second baseman Kevin Clements of Trinity and senior third baseman Kyle Raskin of Hendrix were named to the All-West Region Third Team.