University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Lankford Named to Big South Championship All-Tournament Team
05.28.2017 | Baseball
LEXINGTON, S.C. – UNC Asheville baseball third baseman Brandon Lankford has been named to the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's All-Tournament Team.
The honor is the first for a UNC Asheville baseball player since 2006, when Rob Vernon, Elliott Arrington, Matt Henson and Alan DeRatt all earned All-Tournament honors en route to helping the Bulldogs claim the league crown and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That year, Rob Vernon was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
Lankford becomes just the 12th Bulldog to earn Big South Conference Championship All-Tournament honors.
In the Bulldogs' four games at Lexington County Baseball Stadium this season, Lankford batted .313 – going 5-for-16 as he garnered a hit in all four games – with four runs batted in, three runs scored and a home run. The freshman slugged .500 and was perfect in the field with four putouts and five assists.
Lankford's best game came in the Bulldogs' elimination game on the morning of Saturday, May 27, against Gardner-Webb. He batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored against the Runnin' Bulldogs. The day before, Lankford lifted UNC Asheville to a 2-1 win over No. 2 seed Liberty in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer.
UNC Asheville baseball's season came to an end Saturday afternoon as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs fell 7-2 to fifth-seeded and 2017 Big South Champion Radford in the semifinal round of the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's.
The Bulldogs (25-32) put together an impressive run this season and did something that a Bulldog team had not accomplished since the 2007 season: win two games in the postseason conference tourney to advance to the semifinal round.
UNC Asheville saw its season come to an end with 25 wins on the year, tied for sixth-most in program history and the most since the 2004 team won 26. Along the way, the Bulldogs were never swept and won critical games by answering the call just about every day.
Lankford is one of 21 players who stand to return next season for the Bulldogs and head coach Scott Friedholm.
2017 All-Tournament Team
Kyle Zurak, Radford (MVP)
Danny Hrbek, Radford
Spencer Horwitz, Radford
Kyle Butler, Radford
Nick Wise, Presbyterian
Nick Guimbarda, Presbyterian
Tyler Weyenberg, Presbyterian
Hayden Deal, Presbyterian
Justin Kunz, Gardner-Webb
Collin Thacker, Gardner-Webb
Brandon Lankford, UNC Asheville
Hunter Lipscomb, Winthrop
The honor is the first for a UNC Asheville baseball player since 2006, when Rob Vernon, Elliott Arrington, Matt Henson and Alan DeRatt all earned All-Tournament honors en route to helping the Bulldogs claim the league crown and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That year, Rob Vernon was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
Lankford becomes just the 12th Bulldog to earn Big South Conference Championship All-Tournament honors.
In the Bulldogs' four games at Lexington County Baseball Stadium this season, Lankford batted .313 – going 5-for-16 as he garnered a hit in all four games – with four runs batted in, three runs scored and a home run. The freshman slugged .500 and was perfect in the field with four putouts and five assists.
Lankford's best game came in the Bulldogs' elimination game on the morning of Saturday, May 27, against Gardner-Webb. He batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored against the Runnin' Bulldogs. The day before, Lankford lifted UNC Asheville to a 2-1 win over No. 2 seed Liberty in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer.
UNC Asheville baseball's season came to an end Saturday afternoon as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs fell 7-2 to fifth-seeded and 2017 Big South Champion Radford in the semifinal round of the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's.
The Bulldogs (25-32) put together an impressive run this season and did something that a Bulldog team had not accomplished since the 2007 season: win two games in the postseason conference tourney to advance to the semifinal round.
UNC Asheville saw its season come to an end with 25 wins on the year, tied for sixth-most in program history and the most since the 2004 team won 26. Along the way, the Bulldogs were never swept and won critical games by answering the call just about every day.
Lankford is one of 21 players who stand to return next season for the Bulldogs and head coach Scott Friedholm.
2017 All-Tournament Team
Kyle Zurak, Radford (MVP)
Danny Hrbek, Radford
Spencer Horwitz, Radford
Kyle Butler, Radford
Nick Wise, Presbyterian
Nick Guimbarda, Presbyterian
Tyler Weyenberg, Presbyterian
Hayden Deal, Presbyterian
Justin Kunz, Gardner-Webb
Collin Thacker, Gardner-Webb
Brandon Lankford, UNC Asheville
Hunter Lipscomb, Winthrop
Players Mentioned
INF
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