Natural State Baseball 2008 Awards

Natural State Baseball is pleased to announce its 2008 All-Arkansas Collegiate Team and Awards. Scott Norwood’s OBU Tigers earned five spots on the team, and were named Team of the Year, while Norwood was named Coach of the Year. The Tigers finished the year 51-16 and were the Division II runner up, falling in the National Championship game to Mount Olive.

Steve Smith of OBU was named the Pitcher of the Year and the winner of the “Natural” Award, given to the best player from the state of Arkansas. A 25th round draft pick by the Cleveland Indians, Smith was named the Division II College World Series Most Valuable Player. He was 10-1 on the season with a 2.00 ERA and 143 strikeouts.

John Long of SAU was named the Player of the Year. The senior Mulerider was named to 3 All-American teams. He hit .415 with 18 home runs and 74 RBI. Southern Arkansas was eliminated in the South Central Regional of the NCAA D2 tournament but finished the year ranked as high as 10th.

Joey Winiecki of UA-Fort Smith was named the Freshman of the Year. The centerfielder for the Lions hit .444 with 5 HR and 57 RBI and stole 30 bases.

All Arkansas Team
Catcher – Jim Streicher, OBU (.425 avg, 8 HR, 56 RBI)
First – Destan Makonnen, OBU (.338 avg, 22 HR, 76 RBI)
Second – Cannon Lester, SAU (.400 avg, 5 HR, 41 RBI)
Third – Logan Forsythe, UA (.351 avg, 7 HR, 34 RBI)
Shortstop – Cory Briggs, UO (.467 avg, 8 HR, 54 RBI)
Left field – John Long, SAU (.415 avg, 18 HR, 74 RBI)
Center field – Jeremy Sauceda, HSU (.396 avg, 11 HR, 51 RBI)
Right field – Justin Pennell, OBU (.359 avg, 15 HR, 77 RBI)
Designated Hiitter – Robby Finnell, UO (.374 avg, 13 HR, 56 RBI)

Starting Pitcher – Aaron Davidson, UAFS (10-4, 2.01 ERA, 117 strikeouts)
Starting Pitcher – Cobey Guy, UAFS (6-1, 2.53 ERA, 108 strikeouts)
Starting Pitcher – Curt Dixon, UO (9-1, 2.92 ERA)
Relief Pitcher – Jake Waddle, UAFS (3-2, 1.19 ERA, 6 saves)
Relief Pitcher – Patrick Lemmond, OBU (2-1, 3.00 ERA, 9 saves)
Pitcher – Steve Smith, OBU (10-0, 2.00 ERA, 3 saves, 143 strikeouts)
Pitcher – Hayden Simpson, SAU (10-0, 3.43 ERA)


Player of the Year – John Long, SAU
Pitcher of the Year – Steve Smith, OBU
Freshman of the Year – Joey Winiecki, UAFS
The Natural (Arkansan of the Year) – Steve Smith, OBU (Texarkana, Ark.)
Coach of the Year – Scott Norwood, OBU
Team of the Year – Ouachita Baptist Tigers


Honorable mention: Chase Leavitt (UA), Jantzen Black (ATU), Daniel Ward (Hendrix), Rudy Jovanovski (OBU), Blake Lockwood (OBU), Chase Baran (OBU), Pat Robey (SAU), James Schroeder (SAU), Tyler Maag (SAU), Jeremy Jenkins (SAU), Cody Jones (SAU), Blake Doty (UAFS), Jared Richmond (UAFS), Jordan Pratt (UAFS), Steve Carlin (UAFS), Matt Pace (UAPB), Jerome McCollum (UAPB), Bruce Cameron (UO), Justin Brown (Lyon), Sam Neal (Lyon), Nick Salahub (Lyon), Chris Houk (UCA), Josh Huffman (UCA)