E IGHTH-PLACE CLUBS rarely are considered when player of the year honors are handed out, no matter how deserving an athlete might be.
A case in point is senior outfielder Stephen "Blake" Williams (Essex) of Bluefield College. The Rams finished with a 6-12 mark against Appalachian Athletic Conference opponents (12-27 overall), but their lack of overall success hardly diminishes what the four-year starter achieved this year.
In capturing AAC first-team honors, Williams led the team in triples (12) and slugging percentage (.772), was second in batting average (.452) and 10th in RBIs (33).
"Blake has good gap power and runs the bases well," Rams head coach Mike White commented. "I think being a year older and a little more mature, he knew how pitchers worked him and he was able to make adjustments."
Twice collecting triples in the same game (against Bluefield State and Roanoke), Williams fell two triples shy of tying the NAIA single-season record set 28 seasons ago by William Carey's Ricky McMullen.
Williams occasionally worked on the mound as a spot starter, but was much too valuable to the Rams as a center fielder. He recorded 74 putouts and seven assists to finish with a .976 fielding percentage.
Williams, who attended Liberty University for a semester prior to transferring to Bluefield, is slated to graduate in December.
Captains sweep Mason-DixonThe Christopher Newport track teams enjoyed victory margins of 85 and 86 points over runner-up Salisbury University to win both the men's and women's titles at the Mason-Dixon Conference championships.
Captain standouts included Tiffany Jones (North Stafford) with a first in the women's long jump (17-2), second in 400-meter relay (48.43) and sixth in 100 hurdles (15.24); Rachael Clark (Liberty) with a first in the shot put (45-4), and Colandra Rollins (Culpeper) with a second in the shot put (37-6).
On the men's side, Frostburg's James Pruitt (Stafford) captured fourth in the shot put (42-0) and fifth in the discus (121-4), and Salisbury's Marcus Tines (Liberty) was fourth in the 100-meter dash (11.19) and sixth in the 200 (22.60).
Twin blasts lift BridgewaterThe Bridgewater baseball team achieved its first-ever 30-win season Saturday and in the process boosted its chances for a sixth appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs, sweeping York College, 9-4 and 13-6.
Junior Jono Brooks (Caroline) got the Eagles off to a quick start with a grand-slam homer in the first game. Teammate Zach Foltz (Caroline) clubbed a three-run shot in the second game.
Coming into the twinbill, York was the third-ranked team in the South region and Bridgewater (31-12-1) was fifth.
The tournament field of 59 teams is to be announced on Sunday.
Spartans complete sweepNorfolk State outscored Hampton, 140-127, in last weekend's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference track championship at Greensboro, N.C., giving the Spartans their first sweep of the cross country, indoor track and outdoor track titles since the 2000-01 school year.
Hampton outscored Maryland-Eastern Shore, 160-107, to secure the women's crown. Norfolk State's LaTonya Anderson (Caroline) placed fifth in the long jump (18-6) and seventh in the heptathlon (4,054 points).
Keydets shine in tuneupIn its final tuneup prior to the IC4A championships scheduled this weekend, the Virginia Military 400-meter sprint relay team placed first at the Patriot Open Invitational in Fairfax.
Their 42.86 clocking was fast enough to qualify for the IC4A, but did not improve the Keydets' seeding of 41.68 achieved earlier in the season. Running the third leg of the event is freshman Taili Evans (Brooke Point).
Three area athletes placed in the distance events: William & Mary's Loren Cutright (Louisa) was second in the women's 1,500 (4:52.69) and Dan Nally (Liberty) was third in the men's 5,000 (15:25.30), while George Mason's John Crain (Colonial Forge) was third in the men's 1,500 (4:04.97).
Seeing daylight at LibertyEastern Mennonite's Dominique Hull (Liberty) continued her impressive rookie season, placing first in the women's discus (133-7) and fourth in the shot put (35-7) at the Liberty University Twilight Qualifier last Thursday.
Liberty's Emily Funderburke (Courtland) placed sixth in the women's pole vault (10-0) and James Madison graduate Anthony Wallace (Courtland) competed unattached in the men's long jump, finishing third (25-).
KURT NICOLL can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401;
Email: knicoll@freelancestar.com.