Three Patriots earn PBC Baseball All-Academic Team honors

AUGUSTA, GA -- Three members of the Francis Marion University baseball team recently earned academic honors from the Peach Belt Conference.  Senior right-handed pitcher Phillip Mozingo and senior first baseman Preston Shuey were named to the 2011 PBC Baseball All-Academic Team, while junior right-handed pitcher Jarrott Hooks garnered honorable mention recognition.

The team is part of a season-long program recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of PBC student-athletes in the classroom as well as on the field. To be eligible for the All-Academic team, a student-athlete must participate in at least half of his team’s events (either a starter or significant contributor), achieve a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), and have completed at least one full academic year at his current institution.

Mozingo, a native of Florence, received a B.S. degree in biology in May 2010 but chose to come back to school for his final year of collegiate eligibility. Shuey, a native of Charlotte, recorded a 3.65 grade point average and earned a B.B.A. degree in finance (cum laude) this spring.

Hooks is a mathematics major with a 3.34 GPA. He is a native of Marion.

On the field, Shuey batted .308 with a team-leading eight home runs and a school-record 67 runs batted in. He was named to the All-Tournament Team at last week’s NCAA Southeast Regional.   Mozingo owned a 6-1 pitching record with one save and a 2.18 earned run average, while Hooks was 6-1 with a 2.45 ERA.  Two of his wins came in last week’s NCAA regional.

The three helped Francis Marion to a 41-16 record, a Top-10 national ranking, and the Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship.  The Patriots made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and for the second year-in-a-row advanced to the Southeast Regional title game.  The 41 victories tied the program single-season record.

Founded in 1991, the Peach Belt Conference includes 13 member institutions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.  The conference boasts 26 national championships in its short history.