Four Montevallo baseball players honored

The University of Montevallo issued this press release on Tuesday to detail the honors bestowed upon four of their baseball players by the American Baseball Coaches Association:

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo baseball team had four players honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Junior Austin Dubberly (Helena, Ala./Pelham) and senior Chris Ross (Pelham, Ala./Jefferson State C.C.) were named to the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II Pre-Season All-American Team. Senior Heath Peterson (Phenix City, Ala./Chattahoochee Valley C.C.) was named a Player to Watch while junior Vincente Andrews (Phenix City, Ala./Chattahoochee Valley C.C.) was named a Newcomer to Watch.

Dubberly was named Second Team All-Region by the ABCA, Third Team All-Region by the NCBWA and First Team All-Peach Belt Conference at the end of the 2011 season. He hit .352 with 27 runs scored, nine doubles and 25 RBI. He had a .409 slugging percentage and a .401 on-base percentage. He was 5-of-7 in stolen bases and won the UM Gold Glove Award at the end of the season. He was one of the top hitting second baseman in the region and was also a standout in the field. He missed the last nine games of the season due to injury but put up tremendous numbers despite the missed playing time.

Ross was named Second Team All-Region by the ABCA, co-MVP of the UM baseball team as well as Second Team All-Peach Belt Conference in 2011. He hit .405 on the season with 39 runs scored, 16 doubles, one triple and two homeruns. He drove in 19 runs while going 12-of-19 in stolen bases. He had a .557 slugging percentage and a .503 on-base percentage. He led the team in batting average, hits, doubles, walks, on-base percentage and was tied for the lead in stolen bases. He was second in runs scored. In the conference, Ross ranked first in on-base percentage and batting average and seventh in doubles and slugging percentage.

Peterson was also named co-MVP of the UM baseball team last season as well as Second Team All-Peach Belt Conference. He committed just two errors all season out of 408 chances. He had a stellar .995 fielding percentage. He hit .364 on the year with 40 runs scored, 14 doubles, two triples and eight homeruns. He drove in 40 runs as well. He had a .607 slugging percentage and a .425 on-base percentage. He was 12-of-16 in stolen bases. He led the team in runs scored, RBI, slugging percentage and was tied for the lead in stolen bases. He ranked second on the team in batting average, hits, doubles, triples and homeruns. In the conference Peterson ranked third in slugging percentage, tied for sixth in homeruns and was eighth in batting average.

Andrews comes to Montevallo from Chattahoochee Valley C.C. As a sophomore he had a .367 batting average and a .505 on-base percentage. He also attended the same high school and community college as Peterson.

Dubberly, Ross, Peterson, Andrews and the rest of the Falcons open the season Friday, February 3 at 2 p.m. as they host the University of Alabama in Huntsville.