Radford baseball first baseman Spencer Horwitz became the fifth Highlander in program history to be named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshmen All-American, the publication announced Wednesday morning.
Horwitz joins elite company in Kelly Dampeer (1994), Mike Lombardi (1997), Adam McKenzie (1998) and Jeff Kemp (2009) as the only Highlanders to don the honor.
“Spencer had a great year for us, putting together consistent and quality at bats all season long. That’s not common by freshmen at this level,” said head coach Joe Raccuia. “He knew how to work and hit in an advantage counts. Spencer has a bright future and will be a consistent threat in the middle of the order for years to come.”
The 2017 season saw Horwitz lead the team with a .311 average, finishing second with 64 hits and 34 RBIs. Horwitz tallied 11 doubles and eight home runs in 57 games. The frosh put together one of the best slash lines of Highlander freshmen in program history, finishing the season with a line of .311/.481/.384.
Of his eight home runs, six came in Big South play, while driving in 15 of his 34 RBIs in league action. Non-conference play saw Horwitz total 40 hits and 19 RBIs for a .325 clip.
The Timonium, Md., native finished tied for the team lead with 23 walks, only striking out 32 times in 206 at bats. In 442 chances, Horwitz only committed four errors, finishing with a .991 fielding percentage.
Horwitz joins Campbell’s Matthew Barefoot as the only two Big South players on the team.
— Courtesy of RU Athletics