2006 Rawlings CPL Offensive Player of the Year:
Jimmy Gallagher (Duke University) Peninsula Pilots
A junior from Duke University and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gallagher was consistently among the CPL’s top hitters throughout the 2006 season. He started 44 of 46 games for the Pilots and ended up finishing with a league season-best .423 batting average, which also set the new league record of .378 formerly held by Petersburg’s Anthony Bocchino in 2001. Furthermore, Gallagher’s .423 average was 68 points higher than the next-best average of .355.
Gallagher also recorded league-bests in hits with 74, as well as in RBIs with 45 on the season. His 74 hits also set the all-time league record, breaking Bocchino’s 2001 mark of 68.
In addition to those numbers, Gallagher also hit 13 doubles, five home runs, and racked up 40 runs scored, third most all-time. He finished second in both slugging percentage at .583, and on-base percentage at .483. Meanwhile, he was walked 24 times and added 13 stolen bases to his season’s resume.
With the help of Gallagher, Peninsula made a strong push in the second half of the season, taking home the North Division Second Half Championship, as well as a berth into the 2006 Petitt Cup Tournament. The Pilots made it all the way to the championship game, but fell to the Thomasville HiToms, 6-1.
Gallagher was also selected as a Rawlings Hitter of the Week and to the 2006 Coastal Plain League National All-Star Team. In week six of the CPL season, he was honored as a Rawlings Co-Hitter of the Week. Then, in the All-Star Game, Gallagher went 1-for-1 with a double and one run scored.
2006 Rawlings Hitters of the Week
Hitter of the Week (Week 9):
Matt Sanders (Young Harris) New Bern (Week 9)
Tri-Hitters of the Week (Week 8):
Josh Paul (Central Missouri State) Martinsville (Week 8)
Nick Vera (Trinity) New Bern (Week 8)
Ernie Banks (Norfolk State) Peninsula (Week 8)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 7):
Jason Morales (UNC-Pembroke) Fayetteville (Week 7)
Cody Overbeck (Mississippi) Thomasville (Week 7)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 6):
Jimmy Gallagher (Duke) Peninsula (Week 6)
Scott Suttmeier (Washington State) Edenton (Week 6)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 5):
Zachary Halloran (Albany) Spartanburg (Week 5)
Bucky Strickland (Angelo State) Edenton (Week 5)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 4):
Erik Lovett (Mount Olive) Wilson (Week 4)
Jeff Cunningham (South Alabama) Fayetteville (Week 4)
Tri-Hitters of the Week (Week 3):
Montoya Young (USC-Aiken) Asheboro (Week 3)
Trey Thomas (The Citadel) Florence (Week 3)
Chris Keenan (Old Dominion) Florence (Week 3)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 2):
Tyler Barnett (Eastern Kentucky) Florence (Week 2)
Matt Leake (Tennessee Wesleyan) Martinsville (Week 2)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 1):
Jamie Ray (East Carolina) Martinsville (Week 1)
C.J. Ziegler (Pima C.C.) Asheboro (Week 1)
2006 Rawlings CPL Defensive Player of the Year:
Luke Prihoda (Sam Houston State) Fayetteville SwampDogs
Prihoda, a junior from Sam Houston State University and Weimar, Texas, made a total of 23 appearances on the mound this summer, all in relief for the SwampDogs. Overall, Prihoda, a 6-5, 235-pound righthander, finished the summer regular season with a league-best, perfect 0.00 ERA to go along with a 3-0 record and 18 saves. Furthermore, his 18 saves not only was a league-best on the season, but also set a new record in the history of the league, breaking Ryan Speier’s (Florence RedWolves) 2000 record of 16.
In 28 1/3 innings pitched, he allowed not a single run and only surrendered seven hits. Even more impressive, however, were his numbers in both walks and strikeouts. On the season, Prihoda only walked two batters, while striking out an amazing 54. Opposing batters hit a low .079 against him, and Prihoda featured a 0.32 WHIP.
With Prihoda on the mound, the SwampDogs won both the South First and Second Half Divisional crowns in 2006 and set a new Coastal Plain League record for most wins in a regular season at 39, five better than the previous record of 34 set by Edenton in 2005. Fayetteville also entered the 2006 CPL Petitt Cup Championship Tournament as the top seed, but fell shy of the championship game after losing to Peninsula, 7-5 on Saturday night and then to Thomasville, 14-8 in the semifinal game on Sunday.
Prihoda was also a member of the 2006 Coastal Plain League American All-Star Team, as well as being named a Rawlings Pitcher of the Week twice. As a member of the American All-Stars, he one inning of one-hit baseball and earned the save as the American squad defeated the National team, 7-6. Meanwhile, during the season, Prihoda was tabbed with Rawlings Pitcher of the Week honors for week one and week seven of the season.
2006 Rawlings Pitchers of the Week
Tri-Pitchers of the Week (Week 9):
Scott Diamond (Binghamton) Martinsville (Week 9)
Bubba O’Donnell (High Point) Thomasville (Week 9)
Chris Hill (Barton) Wilson (Week 9)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 8):
Nick Sottung (Ithaca) Outer Banks (Week 8)
Rob Wooten (North Carolina) Wilmington (Week 8)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 7):
Brett Walker (Virginia Commonwealth) Peninsula (Week 7)
Luke Prihoda (Sam Houston State) Fayetteville (Week 7)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 6):
David Anderson (Coastal Carolina) Columbia (Week 6)
Kenny Moreland (Christopher Newport) Peninsula (Week 6)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 5):
Brock Nehls (Emporia State) Fayetteville (Week 5)
Jordan Costner (Spartanburg Methodist) Columbia (Week 5)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 4):
Brad Brach (Monmouth) Petersburg (Week 4)
Greg Holland (Western Carolina) Edenton (Week 4)
Pitcher of the Week (Week 3):
Ryan Rowland (Charleston Southern) Wilmington (Week 3)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 2):
Michael Antonini (Georgia College and State University) New Bern (Week 2)
Tony Bajoczky (Duke) Gastonia (Week 2)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 1):
David Anderson (Coastal Carolina) Columbia (Week 1)
Luke Prihoda (Sam Houston State) Fayetteville (Week 1)