Johns leads Vikings ALL-SAA selections as Player of the Year
Spence Johns was named Southern Athletic Association Baseball Player of the Year as the league announced its postseason honors Wednesday afternoon. Johns also received First Team ALL-SAA recognition, in addition to teammate former Pepperell High standout Wesley Wade.
In all, 12 members of the BC baseball squad earned recognition from the SAA, with four Second Team members and six Honorable Mention honorees.
“I’m really proud of all of the guys and the hard work they put in,” said Berry head coach David Beasley. “We finished second in the league this year and did a lot of good things out on the field. These guys really committed to put in the hard work and make the effort to help us have the success that we had.”
With a .460 batting average in 18 SAA games played, Johns was the catalyst behind a majority of Berry’s offense in league play for 2022. Johns had 29 hits, 28 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.183. He leaves Berry as the program’s record holder for hits in a career.
Wade’s OPS of 1.263 led the SAA in league games played. The junior started every SAA game of 2022 and had a team-high 33 hits and four home runs against SAA opponents.
On the Second Team for the Vikings were John D’amelio, Joey Garcia, Jack Poist, and Andrew Norred.
D’amelio was an SAA Player of the Week honoree earlier in the season. He had an OPS of .938 in SAA games, with 11 runs and 11 RBI to his credit. His onbase percentage was also a solid .462 against SAA competition.
Garcia impressed during his freshman campaign before being slowed by an injury. Garcia had 20 base hits in 18 SAA games played, with six extra base hits, 11 RBI, and 18 runs scored with an on-base percentage of .449.
Jack Poist tied for the third-most hits for the Vikings in SAA play with 26. The sophomore played solid defensively in the outfield, committing just one error in 2022.
Norred was one of the most consistent pitchers out of the bullpen all season for the Vikings. The senior from Anniston, Ala., had a 3-1 record in SAA play with an ERA of 2.93. Norred allowed just five earned runs over seven appearances in relief.
Six Vikings earned SAA Honorable Mention status; Andrew Pendleton, Levi Cloud, Mason Carnes, John Poist, Jackson Halla, and Zachary Hardee rounded out the 12 Vikings to receive SAA honors.
Another SAA Player of the Week honoree for the Vikings in 2022, Pendleton emerged as one of Berry’s most feared hitters. The sophomore hit .352 in SAA play and led the Vikings with 31 RBI. Ten of his 25 hits in league play went for extra bases.
Cloud hit .278 in SAA play but saved some of his best performances for the final game of the traditional SAA weekend series’. Against Centre, Cloud had six RBI thanks to a grand slam in a Berry victory. At Hendrix, Cloud had a threerun triple to help BC avoid a sweep.
Carnes was Berry’s closer until being shut down near the end of the season. Prior to that, Carnes had two saves in six appearances against SAA competition and had an ERA of 2.77, striking out a staff-best 17 batters.
John Poist only played in 13 SAA games but made his mark, hitting .471 with 16 hits in 34 at-bats. The senior also drove in 11 runs and was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts.
Jackson Halla emerged late in the season as one of Berry’s best arms. Halla went 3-0 with an ERA of 2.76. The freshman had a complete game threehit shutout against Rhodes to help the Vikings earn a series win.
Typically hitting at the bottom of the order, Hardee gave the Vikings a second leadoff man as the order flipped. Hardee hit .386 in SAA play with 26 hits, 19 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases in 13 attempts.
The Vikings closed the season 25-17 overall and 13-8 in SAA play, good for second in the league standings.