Blackburn MVP at Southern Conference tourney

Georgia Southern junior designated hitter Kyle Blackburn was named the Most Valuable Player at the Southern Conference baseball tournament. Blackburn has signed to play with the Staunton Braves this summer.

Blackburn, who started the year in a 3-for-29 slump, went 7-for-16 (three homers, triple, two doubles) with six RBI in the tournament.

In the tournament opener, a 4-3 win over Davidson, Blackburn was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and one RBI. The Eagles then defeated Appalachian State, 6-5, with Blackburn going 3-for-4 with a triple, homer and two RBIs.

After going 0-for-5 in a 16-4 victory over Furman, Blackburn was 2-for-3 in the 7-3 victory over Elon in the title game. Blackburn belted a three-run homer in the sixth to break a scoreless tie.

“I feel great. I got off to a slow start at the beginning (of the year), but tried to stay positive and got hot toward the end of the season and tried to help the team out. It’s awesome,” said the junior designated hitter. “No one on this team has experienced this before, and it’s been a while since Georgia Southern has won one, so it feels amazing to come up here and win the tournament.”

Georgia Southern advances to the NCAA tournament and will play out West in the Cal State-Fullerton regional. Georgia Southern in the No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the opener. Cal State-Fullerton, the top seed, meets Utah in the other first round contest.

Huffer earns All-Anerican honor

Concord University junior Donovan Huffer was named to the ABCA Division II Alll-American Third Team at the utility position.

Huffer was 6-2 on the mound for the Mountain Lions and led the team with a .437 batting average.

Huffer played for the Staunton Braves in 2008 and will rejoin the team for the 2009 season.

Howell MVP at NCCAA tournament

Bluefield College pitcher Donald Howell was named the Most Valuable Player at the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournament.

Howell helped lead the Rams to the NCCAA national title with two saves and two wins.

Howell picked up a pair of saves as Bluefield won two straight games in regional action. At the national tournament, he added a pair of wins as the Rams won the title.

Howell played for the Braves in 2008 and will rejoin the team for the 2009 season.

Brazeal has two hits in USF win

Freshman Todd Brazeal was 2-for-2 with four runs scored and one run batted in as South Florida opened the Big East tournament with a 12-2 victory over Pittsburgh.

Mahoney leads High Point to upset win over Winthrop

High Point won its second straight game at the Big South tournament as the Panthers upset No. 2 Winthrop, 7-4.

Sophomore Kyle Mahoney was 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs to lead High Point to the victory.

McDade drives in 3 for MTSU

Junior Blake McDade had a big day at the Sun Belt tournament to help lead Middle Tennessee State to a victory over Florida Atlantic in the tournament opener.

McDade was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs for the Blue Raiders.

Huffer earns postseason honors

Concord junior Donovan Huffer has received several postseason honors on the diamond.

Huffer was named to the All-WVIAC first team as a utiltity player. He lead the Mountain Lions in hitting with a .439 average and doubles with 16. He ranked third in the conference in batting average and second in both hits and runs scored. Huffer was also 6-2 on the mound with a 3.50 ERA. He ranked second in the conference in innings pitched and fourth in strikeouts.

Huffer was also named to the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first team (picked by the region's sports information directors) and the Rawlings/ABCA All-Atlantic Region first team (picked by the region's coaches.

He is now eligible for the ABCA Division II All-American team to be released Friday, May 22.

Braves earn all-conference honors

Several former Staunton Braves and one 2009 signee have earned all-conference honors this season.

JMU outfielder Matt Townsend (2008 Brave) was named to the All-CAA first team and his Dukes teammate, Matt Browning (2008 Brave) was selected to the All-CAA second team.

Old Dominion outfield Max Most (2008 Brave pictued at right) was named to the All-CAA third team.

Rider's Jamie Hayes (2007 Brave) was named to the All-MAAC second team and Aaron Crittenden (2007 Brave) was named to the All-Atlantic Sun second team.

South Florida freshman Todd Brazeal, who has signed to play with the Braves this summer, was named to the All-Big East third team.