Cullowhee, N.C. – Including a pair of unanimous first-team selections, Western Carolina baseball put three players on the postseason All-Southern Conference teams released on Tuesday afternoon by the league office. Senior right-handed pitcher Zach Franklin and sophomore shortstop Pascanel Ferreras both garnered first-team All-SoCon plaudits from both the league's head coaches and voting members of the SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA), while fifth-year senior infielder Will Prater collected a second-team nod in the coaches' tabulations.
 
The sixth-seeded Catamounts open play at the 2022 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases with a 12:30 p.m. match-up against seventh-seeded VMI on Wednesday at Fluor Field in the amended tournament schedule. Wednesday's first game is a single-elimination contest with the winner advancing into the double-elimination portion of tourney play with a 7:30 p.m. date with No. 3 seed Samford on Wednesday.
 
Franklin made the transition from the backend of the Catamount bullpen into a starting role over the second half of the season, scoring four victories in five starts coming in conference play. Over 54.0 innings, the Marion, N.C., native posted a 2.17 ERA and a 5-1 overall record, striking out 64 batters – second on the team – against 16 walks issued. He recorded 32 total strikeouts over his first four starts of the season including a single-game career-best 10 in shutting down the high-powered Mercer offense.
 
Named to the Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, Franklin also secured three saves to finish the 2022 regular season tied for sixth in the SoCon rankings. Over 68 career appearances, Franklin boasts a 3.34 career ERA with a 16-11 record and 11 saves which rank ninth in the WCU career record books. He has 206 career strikeouts entering the postseason, the 19th Catamount pitcher to eclipse the 200-strikeout plateau where he currently ranks 18th in the school's ledgers.
 
The SoCon's Preseason Player of the Year and a preseason All-America selection, infielder Pascanel Ferreras added first-team All-SoCon plaudits to his resume after collecting second-team plaudits as a true freshman. The Stone Mountain, Ga., native finished the regular season among the leaders in most of the SoCon's Top 10 offensive statistical categories including batting average (6th, .358), slugging percentage (4th, .664), on-base percentage (8th, .437), total bases (1st, 150), runs scored (t-5th, 55), base hits (2nd, 81), RBI (t-2nd, 58), doubles (t-3rd, 21), triples (t-8th, 3), and home runs (t-5th, 14). He batted .405 in league play while pacing the SoCon with a .848 slugging percentage including eight home runs and recorded 29 RBI against conference foes. Overall, Ferreras was also a part of turning 23 double-plays in the field defensively for the Catamounts.
 
One of just two two-time SoCon Players of the Week in 2022 – and the only player to collect honors in consecutive weeks, doing so in early May – Ferreras is on the way to being WCU's first Triple Crown winner since Bryson Bowman in 2017 as he enters the SoCon Tournament pacing the Catamounts in batting average (.358), home runs (14) and RBI (58).
 
Prater, a fifth-year multipurpose infielder, collected second-team All-SoCon honors from the league's head coaches this season after garnering a first-team nod as the designated hitter as a junior to give him plaudits in consecutive seasons. The Dallas, Ga., native closed the regular season batting .332 with a career-best 75 base hits, both ranking him second on the Catamount squad. He has posted career-bests with 16 doubles, two home runs, 45 RBI, and 13 stolen bases this season while matching his single-season best by legging out three triples. His 75 base knocks rank tied for fourth in the SoCon through the end of the regular season and he was tied for ninth with his 16 two-base hits. Splitting time between three infield positions – second base, first base, and once at third base – Prater led the SoCon individually as a part of fielding 38 double-plays as the Catamounts flipped a league-best 46 double-plays during the regular season.
 
Prater is a .325 career hitter over 222 career games – tied for eighth in the program record books – and has made 205 starts during his time in Cullowhee to rank tied for 10th. He also ranks tied for 10th with 270 career base hits entering the conference tournament.
 

UNCG infielder Hogan Windish (coaches) and Wofford catcher Lawson Hill (media) split the SoCon Player of the Year honors, with UNCG's Alex Hoppe earning Pitcher of the Year and ETSU outfielder Tommy Barth earning league Freshman of the Year accolades. Wofford head coach Todd Interdonato was tabbed as the SoCon Coach of the Year after guiding the Terriers to a second-consecutive regular-season championship and the top seed in this week's conference tournament.
 
Wofford and UNCG both had six combined all-conference honorees from the league's head coaches with five Terriers earning first-team accolades and UNCG putting two on the first team, and four on the second. Mercer and ETSU were third with four honorees apiece by the coaches, followed by WCU with three and Samford with two as 25 players were recognized including a tie for the second-team relief pitcher.
 
Wofford and The Citadel both collected a league-best three SoCon All-Freshman honors with ETSU tallying two, and one apiece for Mercer, UNCG, Samford, and VMI to comprise the coaches' 12-member team.
 
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their players in the postseason tabulations.
 
The Terriers paced media voting with seven All-SoCon honors including five on the first team, with fourth-place UNCG landing six on the SCSMA's ledger, four on the second team. Mercer was third with four honorees – two aside between the first and second teams – followed by ETSU with three, WCU and Samford, and VMI with one second-team honor.
 
Each game of this week's Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats through StatBroadcast available online at CatamountSports.com and SoConSports.com.
 
Keep track of everything with WCU Athletics and Catamount baseball including any additional weather-related tournament schedule updates through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
 
2022 SoCon Baseball Coaches All-Southern Conference Teams
Player of the Year – Hogan Windish, Jr., 2B, UNCG
Pitcher of the Year – Alex Hoppe, Sr., RHP, UNCG
Freshman of the Year – Tommy Barth, OF, ETSU
Coach of the Year – Todd Interdonato, Wofford  
 
First team
SP           Zach Franklin, Western Carolina
SP           Matthew Marchal, Wofford
RP           Alex Hoppe, UNCG
C             Lawson Hill, Wofford
1B           John Dempsey, Wofford
2B           Hogan Windish, UNCG
SS            Pascanel Ferreras, Western Carolina
3B           Ryan Galanie, Wofford
OF           Tommy Barth, ETSU
OF           Bill Knight, Mercer
OF           Colby Thomas, Mercer
DH           Brennen Dorighi, Wofford
 
Second team
SP           Austin Parsley, UNCG
SP           Michael Ross, Samford
RP           Jackson Kelley, Mercer
RP           Dalton Rhadans, Wofford
C             Collin Price, Mercer
1B           Bryce Hodge, ETSU
2B           Will Prater, Western Carolina  
SS            Ashton King, ETSU
3B           Mitchell Smith, UNCG                      
OF           Pres Cavenaugh, UNCG
OF           Kennedy Jones, UNCG
OF           Colton Ledbetter, Samford
DH          Noah Webb, ETSU 
 
All-freshman team 
Fisher Paulsen, The Citadel
Sawyer Reeves, The Citadel
Wells Sykes, The Citadel
Tommy Barth, ETSU
Andrew Ronne, ETSU
Treyson Hughes, Mercer
Kennedy Jones, UNCG
Garrett Staton, Samford
Tyler Kaltreider, VMI
Carter Bailey, Wofford
Coulson Buchanan, Wofford
Marshall Toole, Wofford
 
2022 SoCon Sports Media Association Baseball All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year – Lawson Hill, 5th, C, Wofford  
Pitcher of the Year – Alex Hoppe, Sr., RHP, UNCG
Freshman of the Year – Tommy Barth, OF, ETSU
Coach of the Year – Todd Interdonato, Wofford
 
First team
SP          Zach Franklin, Western Carolina
SP          Matthew Marchal, Wofford
RP          Jackson Kelley, Mercer
RP          Alex Hoppe, UNCG
C            Lawson Hill, Wofford
1B          John Dempsey, Wofford
2B          Hogan Windish, UNCG
SS          Pascanel Ferreras, Western Carolina
3B          Ryan Galanie, Wofford
OF         Tommy Barth, ETSU
OF         Bill Knight, Mercer
OF         Colton Ledbetter, Samford
DH         Brennen Dorighi, Wofford
 
Second team
SP          Austin Parsley, UNCG
SP          Josh Vitus, Wofford
RP          Dalton Rhadans, Wofford
C            Collin Price, Mercer
1B          Stephen Klein, Samford
2B          Zac Morris, VMI
SS          Ashton King, ETSU
3B          Mitchell Smith, UNCG
OF         Pres Cavenaugh, UNCG
OF         Colby Thomas, Mercer
OF         Kennedy Jones, UNCG
DH         Noah Webb, ETSU