The Western Nevada College baseball team continued to climb new heights with three players named to the all-Scenic West Athletic Conference first team on Wednesday.
Leading the way was Brian Barnett, who was named as the SWAC's Co-Player of the Year along with College of Southern Nevada's Brandon Trodick. The all-conference team was chosen by the SWAC's coaches on Tuesday.
Also named to the first team with Barnett was fellow outfielder Jerome Pena and catcher Chuck Howard. The three players named to the first team were the most in WNC's three-year history and Barnett's Player of the Year honor was also a first for the school.
The Wildcats had one player named to the first team in 2006 and two in 2007. In addition, D.J. Whittemore was named as the SWAC Coach of the Year.
WNC also had four players named to the second team: Pitchers Josh Moody and Jose Barajas and infielders Travis Feiner and Lance Ray.
Barnett hit .357 overall on the season with 10 home runs and 38 RBI. He hit 9 of his home runs in SWAC play and his season and conference totals for home runs was by far and away the most in the conference.
Howard hit .301 with one home run and 20 RBI and his selection was impressive since the conference was deep with talented catchers. Whittemore said Howard's handling of a pitching staff that included four freshmen starters and the fact that the staff was among the best in the SWAC was factor in the coaches choosing him to the first team.
"I think the coaches took into account that Chuck calls his own game," Whittemore said. "Not to mention that he had a really strong offensive season."
In conference, Pena hit .295 with two home runs and 16 RBI. His defensive skills were also a factor in his first team selection as Pena, who played mainly in right field, arguably had the strongest arm in the conference.
The depth of pitching in the conference was demonstrated by the fact that no WNC pitchers made the first team. Barajas was just a second team choice despite have a 6-1 record with a 1.23 earned run average and 55 strikeouts in 36.2 innings on the season. Moody went 7-2 with a 1.54 E.R.A. in conference.
The fact that Kyle Farrell and Kyle Starratt didn't even make the first or second team further demonstrates how strong the conference is in pitching. Farrell didn't receive any honors despite a 9-2 record overall this season with a 1.51 E.R.A. and 76 strikeouts in 54 innings. Starratt was 9-3 with a 2.39 E.R.A.
Whittemore nominated all four pitchers and he said the vote was split among all four pitchers, which kept Farrell and Starratt from being honored.
Whittemore said he shared his award with assistant coaches Dennis Banks, Kevin Edwards, Mike Gillies and and Aaron Demosthenes. "In reality they're the coaches of the year," Whittemore said.
Note: The SWAC postseason tournament begins today with No. 4 College of Southern Idaho playing No. 5 College of Eastern Utah and No. 3 Salt Lake Community College playing No. 6 Colorado Northwestern Community College. WNC will open play against the highest advancing winner at 1 p.m. Thursday at College of Southern Nevada in Henderson.