RICHARDSON, Texas - Six members of the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program were honored by the Lone Star Conference on Wednesday with the postseason awards handed out in a release by the league office.
Headlining the Hogs were junior Logan Garza (Round Rock, Texas) and senior Seth Spinn (Holland, Texas) as Garza was tabbed the LSC Newcomer of the Year while Spinn was named the Academic Player of the Year.
Garza becomes the first Javelina ever to be named Newcomer of the Year. The transfer from Our Lady of the Lake stood tall on the hill for the Hogs in 11 appearances with 10 starts for a 3-1 record and hurled a 4.72 ERA with a team-best 101 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. It was the first time a TAMUK pitcher recorded at least 100 strikeouts in a season since All-American Garrett Murdy did so in 2004 with 158 and is currently the fourth-most strikeouts in a season in program history as Garza also trails Mike Adams, who posted 115 strikeouts in 2001 and 105 the year before.
Despite the adjusted schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Garza accomplished several feats during the season, including a 15-strikeout performance over 6.1 innings in a 7-6 win over Lubbock Christian on March 20. It was the first time a Javelina hurler recorded at least 15 strikeouts in a game since Murdy set the program record with 19 against Tarleton on March 5, 2004.
Garza also threw a nine-inning, complete-game shutout of No. 24 UT Tyler on April 2 as the Hogs claimed the 1-0 decision, the first nine-inning affair from a TAMUK pitcher since Preston Plovanich shutout Southwest Baptist on February 9, 2018. Garza's efforts on the hill went in as the LSC and NCBWA Pitcher of the Week and it was the third of his five games where he struck out at least 10.
Spinn, meanwhile, became the second Javelina ever to be named Academic Player of the Year, joining Denver Diefenbach who was honored with the award after the 2014 season. Spinn led the Javelinas with a .352 average and team-high 43 hits on 122 at-bats, eight doubles, five triples and four home runs. He also finished with 30 RBi and 33 runs scored, drew 30 walks and stole 10 bases while compiling a .598 slugging percentage, a .481 on-base percentage, and a .970 fielding percentage.
Spinn started the year on an 11-game hitting streak and 20-game streak where he reached base safely. He picked up multiple hits in 16 games in 2021, including a season-best three hits in the season opener against Texas A&M International on February 20 and again on April 16 against St. Edward's. In total, he reached safely in 31 of the 32 games he appeared in for the 2021 campaign.
The transfer from Temple College ripped his first grand slam for the Javelinas this past week to propel the Hogs to a 9-5 win over LCU in the LSC Tournament opening series and finished with a career-high five RBI.
For their performance on the diamond, Garza and Spinn were both named to the All-LSC second team, joined by junior hurler Kolby Lunsford (Helotes, Texas). Lunsford was the other half of the one-two punch on the mound with Garza as he finished with a 4.94 ERA and a 3-4 record across 11 appearances and 10 starts.
Lunsford struck out 44 in his 54.2 innings pitched, including a career-best eight strikeouts in a loss to Oklahoma Christian on March 5. He also didn't issue a walk in his first four starts and his first 22.2 innings pitched on the year.
Three more Javelinas landed on the All-LSC honorable mention team, with senior Aldo Buendia (Laredo, Texas), freshman Damian Rodriguez (McAllen, Texas) and junior Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) all gathering the citation.
Buendia pulled double duty for the Hogs as he finished with a .260 batting average with 26 hits, four doubles and his first two career home runs coming in the final week of the regular season and the first week of the postseason. He also compiled a 1.98 ERA in 10 relief appearances, picked up a 2-0 record and added four saves while striking out 17 in his 13.2 innings on the hill.
Rodriguez slotted in as a regular at third base for the Blue and Gold, finished with a .321 batting average and tied Spinn for the team lead with 43 hits. Rodriguez also added four doubles, two triples and two home runs to his total, picked up 18 RBI, scored 28 runs and stole nine bases.
Servin finished his year with a .337 average on 31 hits, three doubles and four home runs. His 27 RBI is joined by his 15 runs scored along with his 12 walks and five stolen bases as he picks up his second All-LSC award from the league.
The complete release from the LSC can be found at the following link: ALL-CONFERENCE | ALL-ACADEMIC | ALL-DEFENSIVE
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