Paladin Players Receive All-Region Team Recognition
A total of nine players from the Fellowship Christian School varsity baseball have received All-Region Baseball recognition.
Sophomore Will Bracken (pitcher), and juniors Jake Brannon (outfielder) and James Sharp (infielder) have been named to the first team.
The second teamers include Sharp (pitcher), sophomore Braden Burroughs (outfielder) and juniors Reid Harke (infielder) and Luke Stefl (pitcher). Sharp was selected for both pitching and in the field.
A trio of juniors – Dylan Ivkovich (pitcher), Trummie Patrick (infielder) and Coe Puckett (catcher) – received honorable mention status.
The Paladin squad set a team record for most home runs in a season with 30 and finished with a 24-11 record as a team.
Here are individual highlights:
- Bracken went 6-2 with one save and topped the squad with 59 1/3 innings pitched. His 50 strikeouts ranked third on the club. Bracken pitched in 13 games, including a team-high 12 starts and collected a 2.12 earned run average. He ranked second on the Paladins with six wins and finished 5-1 in Region games.
- Brannon hit .365 to finish second on the team and collected 35 hits, eight doubles, two triples and drove in 30 runs. He also scored 32 runs and stole 12 bases. He batted .512 with 22 hits in Region contests. He led the team with a 1.199 OPS, ranked second on the team in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage (.667), and was third in hits. Brannon slugged four of his six homers in Region games.
Sharp belted a single-season record nine home runs to lead FCS. He batted .361 – third highest on the squad – and registered 39 hits, eight doubles, 38 RBIs, 33 runs and 17 steals. He topped the squad with a .685 slugging percentage, shared the lead in both hits and RBIs, and finished second in runs and OPS (1.131). Sharp, who batted .409 with 18 hits and 19 RBIs in Region play, went 9-1 with one save and a 2.43 earned run average as a pitcher. He led the team in wins, ranked second with 51 2/3 innings pitched, 51 strikeouts and 12 games, and was third with 10 starts. - Burroughs hit .301 with four triples, three doubles, two homers, 27 RBIs, 18 runs and nine steals. He ranked third on the club in RBIs, shared fourth in homers and was sixth in hits. Burroughs batted .395 with 15 hits and 15 RBIs in Region contests.
- Harke led the Paladins with a .402 batting average. He collected 39 hits, five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 39 runs and 25 steals. Harke shared the team lead in hits, topped the squad in both runs and steals and ranked fourth on the FCS team in OPS (1.053). In Region contests, Harke hit .449 and registered 22 hits.
- Stefl threw 45 1/3 innings and finished 5-2 with 53 strikeouts and a 3.39 earned-run average. He led the Paladins in strikeouts and finished third on the team in wins and innings pitched and starts (11). He pitched in 11 games overall, which ranked fifth on the club.
- Ivkovich’s team-leading five saves set a single-season record for Fellowship. He ranked second on the team in games pitched (16) and relief appearances (16), and was fourth in wins (two), innings pitched (24) and strikeouts (18).
- Patrick batted .345 with 29 hits, one double, eight RBIs and 23 steals. Patrick ranked fifth on the team in hits and runs and wound up second in steals. He hit .375 in Region contests.
- Puckett batted .358 with 38 hits, 12 doubles, five homers, 25 RBIs, 21 runs and 13 steals. He led the team in doubles, ranked third on the team in hits, home runs and OPS (1.090), and finished fourth in both batting average and RBIs.
This year’s Paladin team reached the Sweet 16 of the GHSA Private State Baseball Championship. It was the eighth straight year FCS qualified for the state playoffs under head coach Shawn Oliver. This year marked Fellowship’s sixth trip to the Sweet 16 over the past eight seasons.
Oliver has posted a 209-89 record over 10 seasons as head coach at Fellowship.
(Graphics by Shawn Oliver)
