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R-MC right-hander Byron Mendenhall |
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Baseball Head Coach Ray Hedrick |
Mendenhall and Hedrick Highlight R-MC Baseball’s List of All-ODAC Honorees
Conway, Dykes, Hartt, Meleski and Wallace Earn All-League Laurels as well
ASHLAND, VA – Randolph-Macon College right-hander Byron Mendenhall was one of four Yellow Jackets named First-Team All-ODAC and was named the league Co-Rookie and Co-Pitcher of the Year, while R-MC skipper Ray Hedrick was named Coach of the Year by his peers.
Joining Mendenhall on the first-team was junior second baseman Greg Meleski, junior designated hitter Charlie Hartt and sophomore left fielder Mike Wallace. Sophomore outfielder JC Conway earned Honorable Mention All-ODAC laurels as well.
Mendenhall (Falls Church, VA/George Mason) shares both individual awards with Virginia Wesleyan rookie Gary Bulman and the duo becomes the first freshmen in league history to win pitcher of the year honors. He is currently 7-0 on the season with a 1.68 ERA, which is second best among ODAC hurlers. Mendenhall has struck out 68 batters in just 64.1 innings of work on the bump, while walking just 17. He has allowed just one run in his last 28 innings of work and was named to the ODAC All-Tournament team after punching out 12 over seven innings against Bridgewater College in the opening round.
Meleski (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) earns First-Team accolades for the second consecutive season after he hit .394 in league play with one homerun and 17 RBI. He had 28 hits and scored 20 runs with a .444 OB% against league foes. Overall for the season, Meleski is batting at .394 with 38 RBI, which are both good for second on the R-MC squad and he was named the ODAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
With a league leading .438 overall average for the season, Wallace (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan) earns his first spot on the All-ODAC team. He also ranked second in the league and set an R-MC single season record with 63 hits, while his .488 on-base percentage was fifth best in the ODAC. Wallace has also driven in a team-best 40 runs on the year, while committing just one error in the outfield. The left-handed hitting sophomore hit .453 in conference competition with three homeruns and 18 RBI to go along with a .672 slugging percentage.
Hartt (Richmond, VA/Douglas Freeman) garners first-team honors after finishing second in the league with nine homeruns on the season. Hartt drove in 33 runners for R-MC and hit .310 for the season. The right-hander, who also saw time at first base and picked up a pair of wins on the mound for R-MC, hit .373 against ODAC teams with five homruns and 15 RBI.
Conway (Sandston, VA/Varina) hit .365 in league play with three homeruns and his 21 RBI was fourth best in ODAC competition. For the season, Conway hit at a .304 clip with five homeruns and 31 RBI. Conway started 37 games this season for R-MC, splitting time between right field and center field, committing just three errors on the season.
Senior shortstop Chris Dykes (Longwood, FL/Lake Highland Prep) was also honored by the league’s 10 head coaches with a spot on the newly formed ODAC Baseball All-Sportsmanship Team. Members of the team were selected based on their contributions to their team’s upholding of the standards of the game, fair play and proper treatment of their opponents.
Hedrick becomes the first R-MC skipper to earn ODAC Coach of the Year honors since 1995. Hedrick led the squad to the school’s first league championships since 1987, winning four straight games in the ODAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1977 when the school was a member of Division II. Hedrick has resurrected the Jackets program, leading it to 81 wins and three ODAC Tournament appearances over his first four seasons at the helm of the program.
-Yellow Jackets-