Palmer Named Southland Newcomer of the Year, Secures Spot on All-Southland First Team
5/20/2019 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
Junior righty is first SFA pitcher in program history to earn All-Southland First Team pick
Complete Southland Conference Release | Southland Conference Tournament Central
FRISCO, Texas - Exactly 24 hours removed from becoming the first SFA baseball player in over two years to claim a weekly award from the Southland Conference, junior right-handed pitcher Alex Palmer laid claim to two more impressive accolades when the league unveiled its 2019 All-Conference selections Monday afternoon.
The Arlington, Texas, native earned the title of Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year while also carving out a spot for himself on the All-Southland Conference First Team.
Palmer is the fourth Lumberjack in the last 10 years to secure the title of Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, joining past SFA greats Bryson Myles (2011), Zac Michener (2016) and Josh Evans (2017) on the program's list of honorees. Not only did he add his name to SFA's growing list of Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year winners, Palmer becomes the first SFA pitcher in program history to earn an All-Southland Conference First Team citation.
Throughout the 2019 campaign - his first at the NCAA Division I level - Palmer has continually distinguished himself as one of the nation's finest arms. He has racked up 99 strikeouts through a staff-high 98 innings of work and owns SFA's program records for most strikeouts in a single season.
In the Southland those 99 punchouts are the second-most and with one more he will become the first Lumberjack pitcher in program history to amass triple digits in a single season. On the national scene, Palmer ranks 33rd in strikeouts, 71st with a season ERA of 2.48, 34th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.15), and 39th in WHIP (1.00).
In the 'Jacks' series opener against Southland Conference adversary New Orleans last Thursday night, Palmer put forth the first nine-inning complete game effort by a Lumberjack pitcher in three years. Through his nine innings of work, the Arlington, Texas, product racked up eight strikeouts while surrendering just a single run on six hits and a pair of walks. SFA backed its ace with two runs and they held up in the 'Jacks' 2-1 victory that pushed them into the Southland Conference Tournament field.
That victory marked Palmer's third-straight complete game outing pushing the right-hander's total to a Southland Conference-leading four. Those four complete games put Palmer into a tie for fourth nationally among all NCAA Division I hurlers.
When pitching against Southland adversaries, Palmer's numbers were better than his overall ones. Owning a 6-4 showing against league foes, the junior posted an ERA of 1.86 and held opponents to a batting average of just .191 through his 72 2/3 frames of work. Sixty-seven of his 99 strikeouts came in Southland Conference play.
Palmer will likely get the ball for SFA's Southland Conference Tournament opener Wednesday morning at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. The sixth-seeded 'Jacks are set to begin their tournament run at 9:00 a.m. against third-seeded Southeastern Louisiana on ESPN+. For a complete Tournament bracket, ticket information and all details about the league tournament, visit the Southland Conference Tournament Central page located at the link in the beginning of this release.
2019 All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams
Player of the Year | Luis Trevino, Abilene Christian
Hitter of the Year | Colton Cowser, Sam Houston State
Pitcher of the Year | Corey Gaconi, Southeastern Louisiana
Relief Pitcher of the Year | Reeves Martin, New Orleans
Freshman of the Year | Taylor Smith, UIW
Newcomer of the Year | Alex Palmer, Stephen F. Austin
Clay Gould Coach of the Year | Patrick Hallmark, Incarnate Word
2019 All-Southland Conference First Team
1B | Hunter Hearn, Sam Houston State
2B | Riley McKnight, Sam Houston State
3B | Enrique Sanchez, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
SS | Ryan Gonzalez, Incarnate Word
C | Luis Trevino, Abilene Christian
DH | Clayton Rasbeary, McNeese
OF | Colton Cowser, Sam Houston State
OF | Eddy Gonzalez, Incarnate Word
OF | Sean Arnold, Incarnate Word
SP | Corey Gaconi, Southeastern Louisiana
SP | Hayden Wesneski, Sam Houston State
SP | Alex Palmer, SFA
RP | Reeves Martin, New Orleans
Util. | Itchy Burts, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
2019 All-Southland Conference Second Team
1B | Ryan Flores, Incarnate Word
2B | Nate Fisbeck, McNeese???????
3B | Antonio Valdez, Incarnate Word
SS | JC Correa, Lamar
C | Taylor Smith, Incarnate Word
DH | Lee Thomas, Incarnate Word
OF | Clayton Harp, Sam Houston State
OF | Dalon Farkas, Abilene Christian
OF | Brandon Bena, Houston Baptist
SP | Cody Davenport, Central Arkansas
SP | Nathan Jones, Northwestern State
SP | Noah Cameron, Central Arkansas
RP | Bernie Martinez, Incarnate Word
Util. | Jordan Cannon, Sam Houston State
2019 All-Southland Conference Third Team
1B | Kyle Schimpf, Southeastern Louisiana
2B | Logan Berlof, Lamar
3B | Carson Maxwell, McNeese???????
SS | Caleb Ricca, Northwestern State
C | Erik Voller, Houston Baptist
DH | Gaige Howard, New Orleans
OF | Jack Rogers, Sam Houston State
OF | Tyler Smith, Northwestern State
OF | Josh Ragan, Central Arkansas
SP | Jason Blanchard, Lamar
SP | Kyle Gruller, Houston Baptist
SP | Jacob Bedevian, Nicholls
RP | Jared Biddy, Southeastern Louisiana
Util. | Jake Dickerson, McNeese???????
2019 All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention
1B | Collin Morrill, New Orleans
2B | Brennan Breaud, Southeastern Louisiana
3B | Robin Adames, Lamar • Sam Taylor, Northwestern State
SS | Cody Grosse, Southeastern Louisiana
C | Gavin Johnson, Sam Houston State
DH | Preston Faulkner, Southeastern Louisiana
OF | Jeffrey Elkins, Northwestern State
OF | Avery George, Lamar
OF | Cole Girouard, Lamar
SP | Spencer Chirpich, Abilene Christian
SP | Mason Knopp, Southeastern Louisiana
RP | Will Dion, McNeese???????
RP | Brennan Lewis, Abilene Christian
RP | Nick Mickolajchak, Sam Houston State
RP | Gavin Stone, Central Arkansas
Util. | Champ Davison, Nicholls
2019 Southland Conference All-Defensive Team
1B | Tyler Smith, Central Arkansas
2B | Riley McKnight, Sam Houston State
3B | Carson Maxwell, McNeese???????
SS | Cody Grosse, Southeastern Louisiana
C | Taylor Smith, Incarnate Word
LF | Nick Ray, Southeastern Louisiana
CF | Josh Ragan, Central Arkansas
RF | Sean Arnold, Incarnate Word
P | Dustin Lacaze, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
-SFA-
