LUBBOCK, Texas – As the 2023 season rolls on as the calendar turns towards the end of the regular season, USC Upstate baseball players
Reese Dutton,
Troy Hamilton, and
Noah Sullivan find themselves on the Watch Lists for the three major awards (National Pitcher of the Year, Brooks Wallace Award, and John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award) presented by the College Baseball Foundation, making Upstate the lone Big South school to feature a player on all three lists.
College baseball's version of the Cy Young Award, the National Pitcher of the Year Award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate pitcher, being awarded since 2009.
A right-hander from Kenosha, Wis., Dutton has headlined the Spartans' pitching staff this season, starting nine games atop the rotation, pitching to the tune of a 6-2 record and 2.67 earned run average. Over 54.0 innings of work this season, he's struck out 63 hitters, averaging 10.50 strikeouts per nine innings while punching out six or more batters in eight of his nine outings. Dutton enters the Spartans' weekend series ranked third in the Big South in ERA, total strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings, and WHIP (1.07).
Named in honor of former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace who passed away at age 27 after a courageous battle with Leukemia, the Brooks Wallace Award has been given since 2009 to the nation's most outstanding shortstop.
Hailing from Royal Palm Beach, Fla., Hamilton has been a stalwart in the heart of the Upstate batting order, starting all 38 games this season and posting a three-slash line of .331/.399/.490. He leads the Spartans in hits with 48 this season, tying for the team lead in multi-hit games with 13 as he's also driven in 33 runs, including a career-high six versus Longwood on April 6, and scored 34 more. Hamilton enters the weekend holding an eight-game reached base streak and a four-game hitting streak.
The John Olerud Two-Way Player Award, named after the former Washington State pitcher and first baseman and National College Baseball Hall of Famer, honors the nation's top combo pitcher-position player, being awarded since 2010.
A right-handed pitcher, designated hitter, and first baseman, Sullivan has succeeded in multiple roles for the Spartans this season, hitting .311 over 17 games at the plate, driving in 15 runs and scoring 12 while hitting two home runs. On the mound, he owns a 1-0 record and 0.00 earned run average over 12.1 innings, striking out 16 and surrendering a .100 opponent's batting average.
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