VIDEO: Brett Langhorne Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference announced its postseason laurels Tuesday afternoon as Carson-Newman placed four athletes on all-conference clubs with a duo being awarded Gold Gloves for their work defensively.
Pitcher Dillon Cate (Sevierville, Tenn.) was named to the top club. Catcher Ethan Goforth (Blacksburg, Va.) and reliever Will Gardner (Morristown, Tenn.) earned spots on the second team and Brett Langhorne (Mechiancsville, Va.) was on the honorable mention list. Goforth and Langhorne each earned Gold Gloves.
The last time that the program produced four all-conference players came in 2015 when the school put three on the second unit and one on the honorable mention group. It is the 14th time since 1990 that C-N has placed at least four on all-conference squads.
For Goforth and Langhorne, the duo joins five other Eagles to earn the award in its seventh year of existence. Only one other time had the school had a pair of winners in the same season when Brandon Roberts and Gooch Greer did so in 2016.
Cate joins a lineage of Eagle pitchers to take a spot on the top squad as he becomes the ninth and first since Vince Apicella in 2016. The redshirt-senior is 13th in the country for strikeouts and ranks second with 94 on the season in 75 1/3 innings pitched. His six wins are tied for fourth while his 4.30 ERA is eighth.
"It really means a lot," Cate said. "First off I am honored to be first-team all-conference. I didn't know if I was going to be playing this year or not. It really just puts it all in perspective and humbles me. I am thankful for the opportunity and luckily I have made the most of it."
In the C-N record books, the righty is tied for fifth for strikeouts in a single season and needs five more to take over the fourth spot. With one more win, he would move into an 11-player tie for eighth. He has worked at least six innings in nine of his 12 starts as the Eagles are 8-4 when he takes the ball.
"Coming out of the bullpen most of my career at ETSU, I had to learn how to start here at Carson-Newman," Cate reflected. "Different things go into – your weekly routine, your gameday routine and how much to throw during the week. As the season has went on, I have learned each game more and more. For five or six weeks now, I have had a solid routine and I think it's contributed to the success that I have had."
On Feb. 18, 2018 against 14th-ranked Northwood, Cate produced one of the best pitching performances in the history of the school. He set a Division II record for the school with 15 strikeouts, a mark that is the fourth-highest in Division II this season. He did not allow a hit in 7 1/3 frames of work walking six to earn the victory. The Sevierville, Tenn. native was awarded the SAC Pitcher of the Week as well as a the NCBWA Region and National Pitcher of the Week honor.
Gardner takes a spot on the second team after making the move to the bullpen. As the closer, the flamethrower has recorded 12 saves to tie for the nation's lead in saves. It is a number that has tied John Butler, 1999, for the second-most in school history to rank three behind the high mark.
The Morristown, Tenn. native has appeared in 24 games and is one outing shy of moving into the top 10 for a season in the category. Eighteen of those games have resulted in scoreless efforts out of the bullpen. Eight of his first nine trips to the mound this season were tallied as a save and the other was a victory.
Goforth becomes the first catcher to be an all-conference pick and a Gold Glove winner in the same season for C-N. The redshirt-sophomore has a .328 batting average with two home runs, 29 RBIs and 17 steals in 18 tries. With 18 doubles, he ranks 12th in the country and needs two more to move into the top 10 of the school's all-time ledger. His 17 steals are good for fourth in the league. Overall at the plate, he has 21 multi-hit efforts and five multi-RBI games.
Behind the plate, the Blacksburg, Va. native has been the catcher for all but two innings this season. Among the 10 catchers that saw opponents attempt at least 20 steals, Goforth's caught stealing percentage of 35 percent was five points higher as he threw out 16 of 30. He has had just two passed balls in the last 18 games while being a part of three double plays on the year.
Langhorne makes his second straight honorable mention All-SAC team as he led the club in 10 offensive categories finishing with a .341 batting average, eight home runs, 40 RBis and 20 stolen bases. He had 21 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI efforts. He was third in the league with the 20 steals and top 50 in the country while his 110 total bases are good for 36th nationally. Langhorne has four triples and needs one more to move into top 10 in school history.
In the field, the third baseman committed four errors in the final 31 games of the year including one in 19 in the month of March. He was a part of a 12 total double plays on the year, the most by a third baseman in the league and tied for 26th in the SAC. Langhorne joins Roberts as the two third baseman to win the award for the Eagles over the last three seasons.
"I feel like defense has always been the best part of my game," Langhorne assessed. "I focus a lot on that and then the bat came later. Working with coach [Tom Griffin] in the offseason getting ground balls every day - getting those reps in to get the confidence going into the season."
Carson-Newman starts the SAC Baseball Championships on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial from Smokies Stadium in an affair fans can find on cneagles.com/live for audio and video streams.
2018 SAC Baseball All-Conference
All-SAC First Team
OF – Justin Dean, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Luke Setzer, Catawba
OF – Jarel McDade, Tusculum
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Colin Allman, Newberry
3B – Christian Stampler, Mars Hill
C – Matt Honeycutt, Mars Hill
DH – Bradley Brown, Wingate
SP – Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
SP – John Grigg, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman
RP – Landon Whitson, Lenoir-Rhyne
All-SAC Second Team
OF – Logan Augustine, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
OF – Chandler Castleberry, Anderson
1B – Dillon Carpenter, Anderson
2B – McCann Mellett, Wingate
SS – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
DH – Heath Mitchem, Catawba
SP – Austin Turgeon, Wingate
SP – Charles Hall, Tusculum
SP – Zac Brown, Mars Hill
RP – Will Gardner, Carson-Newman
Honorable Mentions
OF – Kyle Smith, Catawba
OF – Derek Olenchuk, Newberry
OF – Will Reddick, Lincoln Memorial
1B – Alex Reynolds, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B – Joe Butts, Catawba
SS – Tyler Miller, Anderson
3B – Brett Langhorne, Carson-Newman
C – Nate Montgomery, Tusculum
DH – Colby Skeen, Tusculum
SP – Ryan Harbin, Newberry
SP – Joe Bobiak, Lincoln Memorial
RP – DJ Laxton, Catawba
Gold Glove
RF – Luke Setzer, Catawba
CF – Ty Andrus, Wingate
LF – Derek Olenchuk, Newberry
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Dalton Landsdowne, Newberry
SS – Tyler Miller, Anderson
3B – Brett Langhorne, Carson-Newman
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
P – John Grigg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Player of the Year: Chance Bowden, Catawba
Pitcher of the Year: Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
Freshman of the Year: Chandler Castleberry, Anderson
Coach of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba
- CN -
