Greater Hickory area leagues have 11
selections by N.C. Baseball Coaches Association
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
Eleven players from area conferences — including four from Bandys – have been named all-state by the North Carolina High School Baseball Coaches Association (NCBCA) for 2022.
The Trojans has four picks on the 2A team, Draughn has two on the 1A team, North Lincoln has two and Hibriten has one on the 3A team, and Alexander Central has two on the 4A team.
Bandys matched state champions Randleman (2A) and Perquimans (1A) for most all-state selections with four each.
All of the teams are selected by the NCBCA from a pool of players nominated by head coaches who are members of the organization.
The area league’s had only three all-star players a year ago, all in 2A – Casey Knighton of Bunker Hill and West Lincoln duo Samuel Duncan and Brett Mason.
1A
Draughn, after going 20-4 and winning a conference title, has all-state picks in freshman Tate Jensen and junior Trey Jensen.
Tate Jensen, a pitcher-first baseman-outfielder, hit .395 with one home run and 18 RBIs and was 8-2 pitching, going 62 2/3 innings with 23 walks, 92 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.22.
Trey Jensen, an outfielder-shortstop-pitcher, hit .303 with three home runs and drove in 25 runs. He added a 6-0 pitching record with 11 appearances, 20 walks, 48 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.29 in 45 2/3 innings.
As a three-year varsity starter, Trey Jensen is a .290 hitter.
2A
SPENCER
In arguably one of its best baseball seasons in school history, Bandys went 21-8 and won a league and league tournament title that was led by its Big Four – Parker Styborski, Cade Spencer, Terik Bumgarner and Zach Barnett.
STYBORSKI
Styborski, headed to Lenoir-Rhyne University to play football, is an infielder-pitcher who hit .516 with six home runs, 42 runs scored and 44 RBIs.
Spencer, a junior infielder-pitcher, went 9-2 in 12 appearances with five complete games, 10 walks and 81 strikeouts in 59 innings. His ERA was 2.01.
Bumgarner, who signed to play baseball at Mars Hill University, is an infielder-pitcher who posted an 8-2 record with eight starts, 50.1 innings pitched, 24 walks, 94 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.28. He also hit .363 with 10 doubles and two home runs and drove in 27 runs.
Barnett, an infielder, hit .404 with three home runs and 13 doubles, driving in 39 runs.
3A
Hibriten went 11-14 with junior Jake Absher hitting .487 with 13 doubles and 26 RBIs. He also pitched, throwing 18 innings with 23 walks and 26 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.05.
North Lincoln (20-8) won a conference title, led by Heavner, a senior catcher. He hit .442 with 11 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBIs. He also made 12 appearances pitching with four walks, 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.15.
The Knights’ other all-state pick is Landon Reevcs, who hit .415 with four doubles and 13 RBIs and who went 10-2 pitching. He has 12 appearances and one start, throwing 74 2/3 innings with 16 walks and 94 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.34.
Reeves closed a four-year varsity career with a .359 batting average with 34 RBIs and went 18-3 pitching with 23 strikeouts and 162 strikeouts.
4A
Sophomore infielder Maddox Jack and junior outfielder-pitcher Mason Chapman, both from Alexander Central’s 21-5 team that shared a league title with South Caldwell, earned 4A honors.
Jack hit .323 and drove in 11 runs while Chapman hit .300 drove in 13 runs and scored 33 for the Cougars.
ALL-STATE TEAMS: https://www.ncbca.org/NCBCA-All-State
