SPRINGFIELD, IL. -- Three Apprentice School baseball players were recognized on Sunday afternoon by the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association by earning All-American honors at the pre-tournament banquet. Another three were recognized on the USCAA All-Academic team.
Junior Chris Scarola and freshman Sam Massie were named to the All-American team, while junior Devorn Lake was named to the Honorable Mention All-American team. That makes 50 baseball players since 2000 to earn post-season recognition from the USCAA.
Scarola, a dimensional control tech apprentice from Williamsburg, VA, has seen his batting average jump by 145 points from his sophomore to junior season as he is third on the team with a .353 average. He has had 14 multi-hit games, eight multi-RBI games and has had a 12-game hitting streak earlier in the season. Currently he has had a hit in each of his last six games and has reached base in 15 straight games. He had three hits against Danville CC and College of the Albemarle in the last two weeks.
Massie, an electrician apprentice from Hampton, VA, has turned in a stellar freshman season making him only the second freshman to earn USCAA All-American honors under head coach Bryan Cave. He leads the team with 41 strikeouts in 41.2 innings with a season best of eight against St. Vincent's College. Massie is 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA with a pair of saves against NCAA Division III Bridgewater State College and Virginia Wesleyan College.
Lake earned honorable mention honors after a junior season that saw him hit .380 with two home runs and a team-best 36 RBIs. A rigger apprentice from Newport News, VA, he has 14 multi-hit games, 11 multi-RBI games and five games of three hits. He is currently on a 13-game hitting streak and has handled first base very well with only two errors in almost 200 chances. Lake leads the team in slugging percentage and RBI while second in hits and doubles.
To earn USCAA All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.5 grade point average and be at least a sophomore in eligibility. Joining Scarola were senior Travis Franklin, junior David Sebera and sophomore Zach Harding. Those four raise the total of All-Academic honorees by the USCAA to 20 since 2003.