College baseball: 8 players on Polk State earn all-conference
After a fruitful 33-23 year that ended in the NJCAA South Atlantic Championship Regional playoffs, Polk State ended up with eight players earning spots on the All-Suncoast Conference team.
Outfielder Nelson Taylor is the Suncoast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and relief pitcher Ryan Combs was named the conference’s Fireman of the Year. The two were joined on the All-Conference first team by pitcher Evan Koehler and catcher Travis Stapleton. And on the second team were Damon Kenealy and Roberto Odor, as well as outfielders Ray Mercer and Ray Bermudez.
“These guys come in, work hard every day, and are continually striving to get better,” head coach Al Corbel said. “I’m happy for them. As a coach, you love to see all that hard work recognized.”
Taylor, in addition to great defense, was the team leader in several offensive categories, including batting average (.371), hits (63), RBIs (46), doubles (17), home runs (6), slugging (.647), on-base percentage (.476), and stolen bases (28), which led the FCSAA. The sophomore and future Florida State University player had a perfect fielding percentage with four outfield assists in 115 chances, too.
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As just a freshman, Combs led the Eagles with 29 appearances, while being tied for the team lead with six wins. In all, he posted a 6-3 record with a 5.18 ERA, while striking out 64 batters in close to 49 innings of action. He also added an FCSAA-leading 10 saves, which is good for second in the country.
As for Koehler, he posted a 6-1 record with a 3.39 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 69 innings of work with one complete game. He ranked in top 10 in the state for innings pitched, strikeouts and ERA.
Stapleton, who is a University of North Florida and a Lipscomb University signee, culminated second at Polk State in batting average (.348) and hits (62). He also posted three home runs and 35 RBIs.
Signing with University of Tampa is Mercer, who broke the Polk State single-season triples record with 11 in 2023, which is good for fourth nationally. This past season he registered a .288 average with 26 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and a team-leading 58 runs scored.
Bermudez spent the fall at the University of Miami. But since transferring to Polk State, he has settled in nicely, posting a .306 average with three home runs and 43 ribbies. He is second on the tam with 11 doubles as well.
Kenealy, who is a freshman, wrapped up the season with a .296 average, while being tied for the team lead with six home runs and 36 RBIs. On the hill, he held batters to just a .229 average while adding two saves.
Odor, a local product, batted .343 as a freshman. While he started as a reserve in the beginning of the year, he finished up the campaign starting 30 games, finishing with five doubles, 13 RBIs and a .415 on-base percentage.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: College baseball: 8 players on Polk State earn all-conference
