College Baseball: The Fire's Pablo Lanzarote, Polk State's Nelson Taylor earn Gold Gloves
A couple of local college players achieved some accolades after producing some stellar seasons.
Southeastern University senior catcher Pablo Lanzarote is one of nine players selected to the NAIA ABCA-Rawlings Gold Glove team in 2023.
Lanzarote is just the third player in program history to achieve a national Gold Glove and is the second SEU catcher to win the award.
In a season that had the Fire advance all the way to the NAIA World Series, the Venezuelan threw out 13 base runners, committing just two errors in 436 chances for a .995 fielding percentages. Lanzarote racked up 391 putouts and had 43 assists in the season.
The Fire culminated the year with a 58-6 record and finished third at the Avista NAIA World Series.
More: College baseball: No. 1 Southeastern wins NAIA World Series
Polk State's Nelson Taylor earns Gold Glove
Polk State's Nelson Taylor won a FCSAA Gold Glove, which cements Polk State as a program for the second year in a row having Gold Glove recipients. Taylor was also previously named Suncoast Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
This past year, Taylor had a perfect fielding percentage with four outfield assists.
Additionally, Taylor was Polk State's leader in most offensive categories, including batting average (.353), doubles (12), home runs (6), RBIs (48), slugging percentage (.620) and on-base percentage (.467). What's more, his 31 stolen bases were the most in the state of Florida.
Taylor is the fourth Polk State player to grab the Rawlings Gold Glove under head coach Al Corbell.
Polk State ended the year with a 33-23 record and in NJCAA South Atlantic Championship Regional Play.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Fire's Pablo Lanzarote, Polk State's Nelson Taylor earn Gold Gloves
