JONES WINS MEAC PLAYER OF THE YEARFour Aggies make first team, relief baseball pitcher, softball player make second team
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., April 27, 2005 – Sophomore N.C. A&T outfielder Jeremy Jones started the season hot and never cooled off. On Wednesday, he was rewarded for his outstanding season that helped the Aggies win the MEAC regular-season title. Jones captured the MEAC Player of the Year award in a season in which he is batting .399.
“Jeremy is a hardworking young man who really deserves this honor,’’ said N.C. A&T baseball coach Keith Shumate. “Jeremy really dedicates himself to becoming a better player every day, and it shows on the field.”
Jones’ batting average never dipped below .375, and as late as March 12 he was batting .444. He led the MEAC in batting average (.399), runs scored (73), doubles (19), RBI (45), total bases (110) and hits (73).
He recorded 24 multiple-hit games. Twenty-six of his 73 hits went for extra bases. He also had at least one hit in 38 of the 48 games he played this season. Jones is a Fayetteville native who attended Terry Sanford High.
Jones had some company on the first team. Starting pitchers Michael Hauff and Primus also made first team. Hauff, a 6-foot-1 junior out of Asheboro, went 7-3 on the season and led the MEAC in strikeouts with 109. In seven of his 12 appearances, he recorded double-digit strikeouts.
Primus is a freshman out Garner. He was 6-2 overall and 5-0 at home in War Memorial Stadium. He finished the season with a 2.84 ERA in 79 1/3 innings pitched.
Sophomore Charlie Gamble, a Southern Guilford graduate, closed out the first-team honors for the Aggies baseball team. Gamble batted .326 on the season and led the MEAC in home runs with 11. Gamble was second in the MEAC in RBI (41) and runs scored (71) behind Jones. Jones and Gamble bat in the third and fourth spots respectively.
Gamble had a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth against Campbell, and he hit for the cycle against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Relief pitcher Richard Hawk made second-team All-MEAC. The High Point native led the MEAC in saves with nine during his junior season.
The N.C. A&T softball team was also recognized on Wednesday. Senior First baseman Lorraine Geiger made second team. She batted .311 with two home runs and 18 RBI this season. Geiger, a Buena Park, Calif., native was the first Lady Aggie to hit a home run at school’s new Lady Aggie Softball Complex.
-www.ncat.edu/athletics