Three Radford University Highlanders collected All-Big South honors as the league announced its 2018 postseason awards Tuesday morning before kicking off the tournament. Austin Ross earned Big South First Team honors as a starting pitcher, while Spencer Horwitz was named to the second team for the second straight season and Kyle Palmer donned his second consecutive all-academic team honor.
Radford University had three baseball players to be honored Tuesday by the Big South Conference. They included: (from left) Spencer Horwitz, Kyle Palmer and Austin Ross.
Ross becomes the second straight Highlander starting pitcher to earn first team honors, joining Zack Ridgely, who earned the honor in 2017. The last time Radford had a starting pitcher selected to the Big South First Team in back-to-back seasons was 1988 and 1989 by former Major Leaguer Phil Leftwich.
In Big South Pitcher of the Year voting, Ross finished third, receiving 13 points and one first place vote. Campbell’s Allan Winans collected 22 points on five first-place votes to win the award, while High Point’s Rion Murrah followed with 16 points on three first-place votes.
“Austin put together a great year for us,” said head coach Joe Raccuia. “We really needed him to step up and be our number one. He has really taken on that role and more.”
The redshirt senior finished with a 9-4 mark, leading the Big South in wins and ranking 16th nationally. Ross became only the fourth player in program history to win nine-plus games in a season. He turned in a 3.86 ERA to rank eighth in the league, while striking out 67 in 63.0 innings pitched, which ranked as eighth most punch outs in the Big South. The regular season saw the Beaver, Pa., native put together a 9.57 strikeout per nine innings ratio.
Walking only 18 batters, Ross ranked second in the conference with a 3.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Limiting opposing bats to a .236 clip, Ross ranked seventh in the league, while also holding conference opponents to a .230 clip.
Horwitz earned second team honors as a freshman a season ago. The 2018 campaign saw the Timonium, Md., native finish with a .293 average, leading the team with 61 hits to rank tied for eighth in the league. Horwitz also led the Highlanders with a career best 41 RBIs which is tied for fifth in the conference.
The first baseman collected 18 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI performances. In Big South play, Horwitz finished with a .310 average, driving in 26 runs to rank second. Of his team-high 32 walks, 21 came in Big South play. Also providing the pop in the lineup, Horwitz led the Highlanders with 13 doubles and seven home runs, six of which came in conference games.
“Spencer came through with another solid year for us offensively,” Raccuia noted. “He competes in every at bat and truly never takes a game off.”
Palmer graduated with a degree in Exercise Sport and Health Education, finishing his undergraduate career with a 3.63 GPA. The redshirt senior earned all-academic team honors in 2017, becoming the fifth Highlander in program history to don the honor two-plus times.
On the season, Palmer led the bullpen with 21 appearances, including 11 in Big South games. He has struck out 23 in 28.2 innings of relief. Palmer turned in a 2.60 ERA in conference play, recording five saves to lead the league. The Ashland, Va., native held opposing league bats to a .235 average.
I am very proud of Kyle both on-and-off the field,” Raccuia added. “He has been one of the best leaders I have had the privilege to be around.”
Radford finished the regular season with a 24-30 overall record and 14-13 Big South mark.