A Championship Season Celebrated - 2015 Baseball Banquet

Posted: Jul 11, 2015

The 2015 Apprentice School Baseball season was celebrated on Saturday night with the annual Awards Banquet.

A highlight tape of the Championship Saturday run was presented, along with a preview of the rings the players will receive.

Head Coach Bryan Cave was presented with a special award in recognition of his 600th career victory on April 10 against Virginia Wesleyan College.

Team Accolades

2015 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Small College World Series Champions
Each senior (7) was named to the USCAA All-Academic Team
Tied second most wins under Bryan Cave with a 30-14 record
Team finished winning 15 of last 17 games
Collin Wilber 2-run walk-off home run in bottom 11^th gave Builders 9-7 win over Va. Wesleyan College and Bryan Cave's 600^th career win
Went 17-3 against USCAA opponents
Went 2-1 against NCAA Division II Virginia State University
School-record five honors on the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) College Division All-State Team including first Coach of the Year honor in school history for Bryan Cave

Leading Hitter

Ryan Hendrickson, Senior, Yorktown, Va., Pipefitter

Topped team in batting average .379
2015 USCAA All-American
Two-time USCAA All-Academic Selection
Second Team VaSID College Division All-State Designated Hitter
First Team Academic All-District 1 College Division by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)
2015 VaSID Academic All-State selection
17 multi-hit games, 9 multi-RBI games
Reached base in 30 straight games to start season – fourth longest streak in last 10 years
Had a 13-game hitting streak
Best Games were 3-for-5 with 4RBIs vs. St. Vincent and 3-for-4 with RBI against #4 Salisbury
2nd on team (14th in USCAA) in hits (53)
10^th in USCAA in triples (5)
leads USCAA in HBP (18)

Most Valuable Player

Mark Labrador, Junior, Casselberry, Fl., Pipefitter

Finished with a .374 batting average
Tied for team lead in hits (58)
Led team in runs scored (45)
Second in stolen bases (10)
Had 16 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games
Had an 18-game hitting streak – fourth longest in last 10 years
Also had a 15-game streak – seventh longest in last 10 years
Was 4-for-6 against College of Albemarle
Drove in five runs going 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a home run in first championship game against Illinois Tech
Made the switch from infield to right field and made presence known throwing out three runners – to include game ending throw out at home against Virginia State.

Outstanding Pitcher

Taylor Gomer, Junior, Smithfield, Va., Insulator

2015 All-USCAA Tournament Team
Finished the season 8-3 with a 2.52 ERA
Topped the team with 84 strikeouts to rank third in the USCAA
Was 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA as the Builders closed the season winning 15 of last 17
In the USCAA Tournament he was 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA recording wins against Rochester College and Penn State Greater Allegheny
Struck out eight or more on five occasions
Career-best 12 strikeouts against College of St. Joseph's (VT) and Rochester College in the USCAA National Tournament

Builder Award

Sam Massie, Senior, Hampton, Va., Electrician

2015 USCAA Tournament MVP
Three-time USCAA All-Academic Selection
Went 1-0 with two saves in USCAA Nationals as opponents batted .118 against him.
Four-time USCAA All-American (second in school history) - three-time First Team selection (2012, 2013, 2015)
Went 5-1 as a senior with team low 2.03 ERA and was tops in the USCAA in saves with 6.
Struck out career-best 12 against Va. Wesleyan College throwing 6.2 innings for the win in an 11-inning 9-7 win and earned USCAA Pitcher of the Week honors for that.
Struck out six in complete game over College of St. Joseph's in USCAA Tournament (7-inning) and then closed next game throwing two innings in win over NCAA D3 St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn.
Holds career record for saves (22)
VaSID College Division First Team All-State Relief Pitcher

Rookie of the Year

Mike Brumfield, Freshman, Toano, Va., Shipfitter

2015 USCAA All-Tournament Team
Went 5-3 with 2.36 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched
Struck out 12 against Briarcliffe College for first collegiate win
Complete-game with nine strikeouts to clinch USCAA Championship against Illinois Tech
Also saw action at third base, outfield and designated hitter
Struck out six against eventual NCAA Tournament participant Castleton State
VaSID Second Team All-State College Division Starting Pitcher

Defensive Player of the Year

Brock Harris, Junior, Scottsville, Va., Fluvanna

Most Improved Player

Jacob Countiss, Sophomore, New Kent, Va., Sheet Metal

Finished with a .331 batting average and only four errors in 134 chances at second base.
Had nine multi-hit and five multi-RBI games
Was 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles and a pair of two-run home runs against Thomas Nelson CC
Had a 13-game hitting streak and reached base in 15 straight games
After starting the season very slow, turned it on in the last 2/3 of the year raising his average over 140 points
Was 7-for-16 with five runs scored in the three-game Championship Saturday run at the USCAA Tournament.
Had three hits against Central Penn, College of Albemarle, Va. Wesleyan and Illinois Tech

Leadership Award

Christian Burton, Senior, Newport News, Va., Molder

2015 USCAA All-Academic Selection
Finished the year with a .340 batting average
Third on the team in hits (51)
Second in RBIs (36)
Bounced between first and third base this year and provided a huge spark during the final 17 games of the season.
Hit .400 in the 15-2 run the Builders had to end the season and hit .385 in the USCAA Championships with a tournament high 10 RBIs.
Had 15 multi-hit games, 7 multi-RBI games, and reached base in 13 straight games
Drove in four runs on three occasions, including a career-best 4-for-7 performance with two runs scored against Illinois Tech in the first championship game.