MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State's Deniel Ortiz was named the TCCAA Player of the Year on Friday, while Karson Bonaparte was named the TCCAA Pitcher of the Year.
Along with those two, the Senators had eight members on the All-TCCAA Baseball First Team and one on the All-TCCAA Baseball Second Team. On first team were Logen Sutton, Jack Vogele, Keaton Ray, Nate Conner, Zion Taylor, Jarrett Martin, Manning West and Luke Ferguson. Taz Butler was named to the Second Team.
After a phenomenal freshman season, Ortiz was exceptional during his sophomore year in 2024. Ortiz finished the regular season with a .401 batting average, 18 homers and 61 RBI. Ortiz is first in the conference in home runs by six, first in runs batted in and second in batting average. Ortiz also leads the conference in OBP at .538 and in walks with 46. He's first in the conference with 70 runs, as well.
Meanwhile, Bonaparte was named Pitcher of the Year following a 10-2 record on the mound. Bonaparte led the league in wins, in ERA at 2.85 and is fifth in the conference in strikeouts with 77 in 72.2 innings pitched. Bonaparte won seven games in conference play, as opposed to just one defeat. He has two complete game shutouts and has allowed just four home runs all year.
On First Team, Sutton was the conference's best second baseman. He hit .385 in the regular season with eight home runs and 55 RBI. He stole nine bases and had a .461 OBP. In the outfield, all three spots belonged to Walters State. Vogele led the team with a .445 batting average and had 40 RBI. He stole 10 bases and had a .532 OBP. Conner hit .392 for the Senators, smashing seven home runs and drove in 40. He had a .503 OBP. Lastly, Ray manned left field for much of the season and hit .382 with a .511 OBP. Ray hit 12 homers and drove in 42 runs.
Also on First Team was Martin behind the plate. Martin hit .346 and had 11 home runs and 40 RBI. Taylor was the conference's top designated hitter with a .390 batting average. He hit 10 home runs and drove in 53 runs. Rounding out the First Team for the Senators were West and Ferguson. West started 12 games this season and went 8-0. West had a 2.45 ERA and struck out 62 batters in 51.1 innings. Meanwhile, Ferguson appeared in 15 games and finished with a 4-1 record and three saves. Ferguson gave up two earned runs all season and struck out 33 in 24.1 innings.
On Second Team, Butler made it as a starting pitcher. Butler started 13 games and went 8-0. Butler had a 3.09 ERA and struck out 64 in 46.2 innings.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics