High school baseball: Here are 2023 Gastonia, Shelby area all-conference selections

After claiming the NCHSAA 2A state title, two Burns baseball standouts claimed Southern Piedmont 1A/2A’s top awards.

Junior infielder Marshall McGowan was voted Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Player of the Year, while league coaches voted sophomore Colby Putnam as its top pitcher.

McGowan hit .477 this spring with four home runs and a school record 51 RBIs, in addition to serving as a valued arm in coach Alex Leonhardt’s pitching staff. As for Putnam, he finished with an 11-1 pitching record with 123 strikeouts.

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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL: Here are 2023 Gastonia, Shelby area all-conference selections

Highland Tech coach Kenneth Pasour was voted Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Coach of the Year. He led the Rams to a 13-13 (5-7 SPC 1A/2A) record and a spot in the third round of the NCHSAA 1A baseball playoffs.

Here is the rest of the all-Southern Piedmont 1A/2A baseball team — Bessemer City: Caleb Summey, Nikolas Ellis; Burns: Ben Mauney, Josh Taylor, Ethan Guy, Nick Williams; Cherryville: Landon Hahn, Collin Robinson, Eli Newsome, Kanon Willis, Will Fowler; East Gaston: Ben Summey, Gracen Mahadeo, Sheldon Clark; Highland Tech: Trey Costner, Liam Fulbright; Shelby: Steven Spaes, Parker Dixon, Easton Davidson; Thomas Jefferson: Benjamin Skelton, Jace Gibbon.

Big South 3A

A stellar 2023 season has earned two Kings Mountain baseball standouts Big South 3A’s top awards.

For the second season in a row, Zane Brockman was voted league player of the year. He batted .479 this season with two home runs, eight doubles and 33 RBIs. The Mountaineers’ senior captain also had a 6-2 pitching record with a 1.86 ERA, striking out 96 opposing batters in 60 ⅓ innings pitched.

Teammate Wyatt Davis was named the conference’s top pitcher. He finished with a 10-2 record with a 0.25 ERA. He struck out 110 batters this season against 21 walks in 57 innings pitched.

South Point’s Jason Lineberger was named Big South 3A Coach of the Year after leading the Red Raiders to a 17-7 record and its first conference title since 2017.

Here is the rest of the Big South 3A baseball team.

First team: Patrick Blee, South Point; Nathan Brittain, Stuart Cramer; Caleb Broome, Kings Mountain; Hunter Dye, Stuart Cramer; Javarius Green, Crest; Jacob Hamrick, Kings Mountain; Ethan Hayes, Crest; Talan McConnell, South Point; Wyatt McSwain, North Gaston; Ashton Pope, North Gaston; Gavin Smith, South Point; Aidan Taylor, Kings Mountain.

Second team: Noah Andrews, Stuart Cramer; Bryaden Auten, Ashbrook; Clayton Brown, Crest; Caleb Cloninger, North Gaston; Houston Cook, Crest; Tripp Dow, Forestview; Gavin Gibson, South Point; Carter Jessen, Stuart Cramer; Benjamin Kimmel, Hunter Huss; Landon King, South Point; Zeke Pruitt, South Point; Houston Rector, North Gaston; Carter Roberts, Forestview; Jackson Sheehan, Ashbrook; Tyler Smart, Crest.

Western Foothills 3A

North Lincoln’s Chad Matthews, Cason McGinnis, Ty Goodson and Kaden Howard were named all-conference performers. Trey Spees, Nate Borchardt and Isaac Armstrong of East Lincoln were also voted to the all-Western Foothills 3A team.

Catawba Valley 2A

West Lincoln's Taylor Cook, Noah Gantt and Evan Hartsoe were selected as all-Catawba Valley 2A performers. Garrett Hedgepeth was Lincolnton’s sole all-conference selection.

NCISAA Metrolina Athletic

Five Gaston County baseball players were recognized as NCISAA Metrolina Athletic Conference (MAC) performers. They include Gaston Christian's Meridian Leffew, David Nicks and Stephen Stroupe, as well as Colin Fayed and Jason Johnson of Gaston Day.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: NCHSAA baseball: Gastonia, Shelby all-conference selections