From left, Tagg Duce, Zach Rodgers, Xavier Altamirano, Steve Naemark
Four former Cochise College baseball players who transferred to four-year programs have been recognized for outstanding efforts this season, and three are in the midst of leading their teams to strong appearances in postseason play.
Pitcher Steve Naemark, now at Angelo State University, was named to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-America first-team for his role in leading the Rams to the Division II Baseball National Finals this season. He currently holds a season record of 11-1, including the team’s most recent win Monday against Wilmington to advance in the national tournament bracket.
He was also honored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association with a spot on its All-America team “following a season where he established a new single-season strikeout record and is poised to shatter the all-time ERA record in program history,” according to ASU’s website. The left-hander was also named South Central Pitcher of the Year, awarded by ABCA/Rawlings, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Daktronics, and the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Naemark, who helped lead Cochise College to the Juco World Series in back-to-back seasons before transferring to Angelo State, was also honored as the South Central Championship’s Co-MVP after pitching in four of the five games in the tournament, including throwing a complete game with eight strikeouts, one walk and only four hits allowed in the South Central Championship final win over St. Mary’s.
Right-hander Xavier Altamirano, now pitching for Oral Roberts University, was named the Summit League’s Pitcher of the Year named to the All-League first team after finishing the regular season with an 8-2 overall record in 14 starts. The junior, who also contributed to the Apaches’ Juco World Series appearances, posted a 2.82 ERA in 83 innings this year, and he struck out 79 opponents and walked only 14 while holding his opponents to a .252 batting average against. Altamirano’s Golden Eagles will play for the Summit League Championship this weekend.
Tagg Duce, a senior outfielder at Dallas Baptist University, was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference second team . Duce, who played second base for Cochise College, leads Dallas Baptist in multi-hit games and ranks second on the team in batting average (.340) and RBI’s (38). He also earned Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week honors this year. Dallas Baptist will face Virginia Commonwealth University in the NCAA Dallas Regional next week.
Senior pitcher Zach Rodgers, now playing for the University of Central Florida, earned Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Second Team All-America honors. Rodgers is the first Knight to be recognized on an All-America team since 2012. He was also named to the All-Conference first team in the American Athletic Conference. A unanimous choice to the first team, Rodgers posted a 10-0 overall and 7-0 league record while compiling a 2.18 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 91.0 innings of work. He was the most impressive pitcher in league play, posting a conference-leading 7-0 mark in 61.2 innings pitched and holding opponents to a .187 average. He finished second in the league with a 1.46 ERA and 62 strikeouts.