GREENSBORO, N.C. – For the second consecutive season, Bret Williams has been named the Mid-Atlantic Region Position Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings to lead four all-region selections for Penn State Harrisburg. Williams was joined by teammates Dallas Hite, Matt Parks, and Drew Harshbarger as all-region honorees.
Williams and Hite were named to the ABCA/Rawlings Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team, Parks earned second-team all-region recognition, and Harshbarger was tabbed third-team all-region. For Williams, it is the third regional player of the year award and fifth all-region accolade of his career. Hite, Parks, and Harshbarger are each two-time all-region honorees this spring.
The latest all-region selection is another in a long line of accolades garnered by Williams this spring. He was recently named a first-team all-American, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Player of the Year, and a first-team all-region pick by D3baseball.com. The outfielder was also tabbed the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Player of the Year after earning a spot on the all-conference first team. The senior recently completed his collegiate career as one of the most successful players in NCAA Division III history, ranking second all-time in total bases (548), tied for fourth all-time in home runs (63), fifth all-time in runs batted in (250), tied for fifth all-time in hits (290), and sixth all-time in runs scored (232). His 43 walks this season are the second-most in the nation, while his 17 homers and 66 RBI are fourth-best among Division III players. The Mount Carmel, Pa. native slashed an outstanding .450/.586/.915 with a stellar 1.501 OPS, with both his slugging and on-base percentages ranking top-five in the country. Williams racked up 58 hits, including seven doubles and a triple, 118 total bases, 55 runs, and 16 stolen bases. He was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week three times this spring (3/23, 4/13, 5/11) and was tabbed the NEAC Player of the Week in mid-April (4/12). Thanks to his impressive postseason play, he was named the NEAC Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) last month.
For Hite, his second all-region honor of the spring comes on the heels of being tabbed an all-America fourth-team selection and all-region first-team pick by D3baseball.com. He turned in a breakout junior campaign that saw him named to the NEAC All-Conference First Team for his efforts. The outfielder slashed .441/.497/.685 with a 1.182 OPS while racking up a team-high 63 hits, including seven long balls, 10 doubles, and a pair of triples. In addition to his 29 RBI and 47 runs scored, the Lilly, Pa. native was a terror on the base paths, with his 21 stolen bases ranking him 36th among Division III players. Hite's play seemingly got stronger as the season wore on and he earned conference player of the week honors in early May (5/3).
Parks emerged as a force in the middle of the Blue & White lineup during his junior campaign and was rewarded with a D3baseball.com Second-Team All-Region selection before picking up his latest accolade. The third baseman racked up 40 RBI and 30 walks to go along with 52 hits, seven home runs, and 86 total bases. The Three Springs, Pa. native slashed .380/.497/.628 with a 1.125 OPS to go along with 42 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, and nine stolen bases. His walk-off grand slam secured a victory over No. 15 Shenandoah in mid-April, while his bases-loaded, walk-off single against Penn State Abington in the deciding game of the NEAC Championship Tournament clinched the conference title for the Penn State Harrisburg. For his efforts, he was named to the NEAC All-Conference First Team after earning NEAC Player of the Week recognition last month (4/19).
Harshbarger added his latest all-region honor after picking up D3baseball.com Second Team recognition as well. The McVeytown, Pa. native was named the NEAC Pitcher of the Year and garnered NEAC All-Conference First-Team honors for his efforts this spring. He was stellar during his first season with the Blue & White, posting a 7-0 record and becoming just the second pitcher in program history to throw a no-hitter. In 48.1 innings pitched, the right hander recorded a 2.79 earned run average and racked up a team-high 61 strikeouts. His 5.03 hits-per-nine-innings average is strong enough to rank him ninth in the nation, while his 0.91 WHIP is good enough to rank him 27th in the country. The junior was twice named the NEAC Pitcher of the Week (4/5, 4/19) and he earned a spot on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week in early April (4/6).
In addition to their individual accomplishments, the foursome helped lead Penn State Harrisburg to a conference championship, its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, eight wins against nationally and regionally-ranked opponents, and an NCAA Tournament victory over No. 24 Texas Lutheran this season.
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