Lee University announces Cloud Earns First Team All-GSC Honors, Black Named to Second Team

From May 4, 2023 post.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Two Lee University Baseball players were named to All-Gulf South Conference Teams as announced by the league on Thursday afternoon. Freshman Malachi Cloud was named to the First Team as an outfielder, and sophomore Riley Black was named to the second team as the designated hitter.

Malachi Cloud has had a strong year as a freshman. He has hit .432 this season going 41-for-95 from the plate. His average is second best in the GSC. Of his 41 hits, ten have been home runs and nine have been doubles. He has 31 runs batted in and is 24-26 in stolen bases and is fourth in the GSC in that category. He is slugging a team best .842 and leads the GSC. His on-base percentage is third best in the GSC at .513. He has been given 18 free bases with 11 walks and seven hit by pitches. He has also scored 39 runs. He has a walkoff home run to beat Montevallo, and a walkoff on a wild pitch to beat Union. He was named freshman of the week three times this season.

Black has been strong at the plate this season hitting .311. He has hit 41-for-132 from the plate. He has 30 RBI, and 26 runs scored. 17 of his hits have been for extra bases and he has been walked 17 times. He is 7-for-8 in stolen bases. His slugging percentage is at .592 this year.

Head Coach Mark Brew is proud of what the young freshman has done foe the team. "Malachi has burst onto the scene this year and has made a major impact in our line-up.  He is a dynamic player that blends a unique combination of power and speed.  He's improved tremendously since the fall and has worked extremely hard to be an impact player in our program."

Brew was also excited to see Black on the team after an injury last year. "After missing 2022 with an injury, Riley came back and has been a force in the middle of line-up this year.  He has some of the biggest power on our team and has had stretches this year where he's put up some huge numbers.  You always feel we could have more on the team, but the league has several great players.  I am proud each got this honor and excited to see the team in the tournament," Brew concluded.

The Flames will take on the University of Montevallo in the opening game of the 2023 Gulf South Conference tournament on Friday, May 5 at 2:30 PM at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.

Player of the Year: Sam Kuchinski, Montevallo

Pitcher of the Year: Dalton Neuschwander, West Florida

Freshman of the Year: Tanner Folds, Shorter

Coach of the Year: Mike Jeffcoat, West Florida

First Team

SP - Dalton Neuschwander, West Florida

SP - Tanner Folds, ShorterSP - Kade Mandershied, West Florida

SP - Peyton Berry, West Georgia

RP - Will Hotalen, Alabama Huntsville

C - Mike Scordo, West Florida

1B - Darrien McDowell, West Florida

2B - Reed Latimer, Montevallo 

SS - Carson Clowers, Delta State

3B - Sam Kuchinski, Montevallo

OF - Anthony Calabro, West Georgia

OF - Malachi Cloud, Lee

OF - Garrett Bodine, Alabama Huntsville

DH - JP Gates, Valdosta State

UTL - Landon Ezzell, Alabama HuntsvilleI

NF* - Sam Ladner, West GeorgiaI

NF* - Mitchell Rottier, Alabama Huntsville

Second Team

SP - Jacob Smith, West Alabama

SP - Zach Henderson, Valdosta State

SP - Andre Orselli, Alabama Huntsville

SP - Major Posey, West Florida

RP - JP Gates, Valdosta State

C - Luke Mitchell, Montevallo

1B - Ben Teel, Montevallo

2B - True Fontenot, West Florida

SS* - Trent Jeffcoat, West Florida

SS* - Blake Vineyard, West Alabama

3B - Michael Rich, West Alabama 

OF - Asa Aubrey, Montevallo 

OF - Kobe Jones, Shorter

OF - JT Vance, Mississippi College

DH - Riley Black, Lee

UTL - JP Gates, Valdosta State

* tie in voting; no tiebreaker

Original source can be found here.