AUGUSTA, GA – The Peach Belt Conference has announced the 2022 baseball season preview with both the preseason coaches poll and the preseason All-Conference team. Columbus State was selected as the favorite in the coaches poll with three of their players named to the All-Conference team.

Columbus State received six first-place votes and 78 total points to take the top spot in the coaches poll, edging out North Georgia by four. Georgia College and Young Harris were tied for third with 60 each while USC Aiken was fifth and Georgia Southwestern sixth. Flagler, Lander, Augusta and Claflin rounded out the voting.

Columbus State won the 2021 PBC Tournament title as the number four seed, beating their opponents by a combined score of 61-22 over four games. CSU took that momentum into the NCAA Southeast regional where they advanced to the championship round. The Cougars bring back eight position starters from that team and two of their three weekend starters.

North Georgia finished second in the PBC standings in 2021, winning 30 or more games for the sixth year in a row. The Nighthawks also advanced to the championship round of the PBC Tournament for the first time since 2009. Eight seniors return for 2022 with five position players and two weekend starters on the mound.

The preseason coaches poll is below with first-place votes in parentheses, followed by the preseason All-Conference team. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own team or vote for their own players.

Rank	School	Points
1.	Columbus State (6)	78
2.	North Georgia (3)	74
t3.	Georgia College (1)	60
t3.	Young Harris	60
5.	USC Aiken	46
t6.	Flagler	37
t6.	Georgia Southwestern	37
8.	Lander	32
9.	Augusta	17
10.	Claflin	9

---

 

2022 PBC Baseball
Preseason All-Conference Team

First Base – Steven Minter, Columbus State

• A junior from Powder Springs, Ga.
• Hit .325 with 14 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 2021
• Ranked fifth in the PBC in hits, RBIs and home runs and was sixth in doubles
• Had 22 multi-hit games with eight games of three or more hits and 13 games with multiple RBIs
• Named the 2021 PBC Tournament Most Valuable Player after hitting .500 in the tournament with two homers – including a grand slam – and nine RBIs

Second Base – Jeff Cyr, USC Aiken

• A senior from Avarda, Colo.
• Hit .320 with 11 doubles, two triples, a home run and 25 RBIs in 2021
• Ranked sixth in the PBC in on-base percentage
• Had nine multi-hit games in 2021, including a 4-for-5 outing against Young Harris
• Drew four walks against UNC Pembroke which was the most by any player in a single game in the PBC last season

Third Base – Ben Markiewicz, Augusta

• A junior from Lilburn, Ga.
• A second-team All-Conference selection in 2021
• Led the team and was tied for ninth in the PBC with a .352 batting average
• Had 11 doubles, four triples and eight home runs and was ranked seventh in the PBC with a .655 slugging percentage
• A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Silver Scholar and named to the PBC Team of Academic Distinction

Shortstop – Isaac Bouton, Columbus State

• A sophomore from Marietta, Ga.
• Named an All-American by the ABCA and D2CCA, he was a first-team PBC All-Conference selection and the 2021 PBC Freshman of the Year
• Hit .347 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs; also scored 60 runs which was eight-most in the nation and had 50 doubles, fifth-most in NCAA Division II
• Collected six hits in the PBC Tournament championship round, the most hits by a player in a game in 2021 and tied for second-most in PBC history
• Named All-Tournament and twice named the PBC Player of the Week last year, he is also a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Silver Scholar

Catcher – Robert Brooks, Columbus State

• A senior from Marietta, Ga.
• A first-team All-Conference selection, he was also named All-Region by the ABCA, D2CCA and NCBWA
• Hit 22 home runs which was third-most in a season in CSU history and second in NCAA Division II
• Also fifth in the nation in total bases and 17^th in slugging percentage; ranked in the PBC top five in batting average (.396), slugging percentage (.835), on-base percentage (.515), hits (72), RBIs (56) and led the conference in home runs
• Named to the PBC Team of Academic Distinction and a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Bronze Scholar

Outfield – Cam Hill, Georgia College

• A junior from Marietta, Ga.
• Led the team with a .350 batting average with seven doubles, four triples, six home runs and 33 RBIs
• Had 17 stolen bases in 18 attempts
• Ranked ninth in the PBC in on-base percentage, 10^th in runs scored, tied for third in triples, and third in steals
• Had 14 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games

Outfield – Tim Conway, North Georgia

• A junior from Decatur, Ga.
• Hit .324 with 13 doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBIs
• Tied for eighth in the PBC in doubles and ranked 10^th in base hits
• Had nine multi-RBI games, including four against Francis Marion along with 17 multi-hit games with a 4-for-4 effort against Catawba
• A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Bronze Scholar

Outfield – Crews Taylor, North Georgia

• A senior from Lawrenceville, Ga.
• A PBC second-team All-Conference selection, he was also named All-Region by the ABCA and NCBWA and an All-Tournament selection
• Hit .303 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBIs
• Led the PBC with 42 walks drawn and was tied for third in doubles, tied for sixth in home runs and ranked 10^th in RBIs and home runs
• A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Presidential Scholar

Designated Hitter – Nik Levensteins, North Georgia

• A junior from Arvada, Colo.
• Named All-American by the ABCA, NCBWA and D2CCA and a first-team All-Conference selection
• Hit .338 with 11 doubles, 19 home runs and 62 RBIs
• Tied for the PBC lead and tied for seventh in NCAA Division II with 62 RBIs; also ranked third in the PBC in slugging percentage, seventh in on-base percentage and tied for ninth in runs scored
• Winner of the Elite 16 Award in 2021; a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Silver Scholar, PBC Team of Academic Distinction and winner of the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award

Starting Pitcher – Cade Heil, North Georgia

• A senior from Suwanee, Ga.
• A first-team All-Conference selection who was named a PBC Pitcher of the Week and a NCBWA Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week
• Made 14 starts last season with an 8-1 record in 80.2 innings pitched; recorded 54 strikeouts, two complete games and one shutout
• Tied for the PBC lead in victories and ranked fourth in the league in innings pitched
• A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar

Starting Pitcher – Josh Hudgins, Georgia College

• A junior from Dunwoody, Ga.
• Made 10 starts in 2021 with 63.1 innings pitched and a 4-3 record with a 4.12 ERA, 58 strikeouts and held batters to a .253 average
• Had one complete game on the season with a 7-3 win over Flagler with eight strikeouts
• Tied for ninth in the PBC in ERA and tied for fourth in batters struck out looking
• Allowed three or fewer earned runs in seven of his 10 starts

Relief Pitcher – Austin Sandifer, USC Aiken

• A junior from Cope, S.C.
• Made 15 relief appearances last year, pitching 23 total innings with a 1.17 ERA
• Went 2-0 with one save, striking out 18 and holding batters to a .215 average
• Pitched four shutout innings to get his first win against Flagler and got his second in his next outing against Francis Marion; pitched 2.2 innings to get his save against Young Harris
• A PBC Presidential Honor Roll Presidential Scholar