2008 Rawlings CPL Offensive Player of the Year:
Kevin Mahoney (Canisius) Forest City Owls
A junior from Canisius and Miller Place, N.Y., Mahoney proved to be a dangerous hitter for the Owls in 2008. He started and played in 54 games for Forest City and finished with an impressive .324 batting average. Mahoney finished third in the league with 66 hits, including 16 doubles (tied for second in CPL) and a league-best 13 home runs. He also led the league with 47 runs scored, 46 RBIs, 121 total bases and a .593 slugging percentage. Mahoney also tacked on a .419 on-base percentage, was walked 29 times and went 13-of-15 in stolen bases.
Of those numbers, several ranked Mahoney in the Top 10 in a single season in Coastal Plain League history. His 121 total bases tied the record previously set by current Major Leaguer Jason Dubois (Rocky Mount, 1998), while his 13 homers and 46 RBIs were good enough to tie for third most in a single season. His 47 runs scored put him tied for fifth, while he also finished tied for seventh in slugging percentage (.593) and eighth in hits (66).
With the help of Mahoney, Forest City won the First Half Championship in the CPL West Division, and clinched the Owls’ first berth into the Petitt Cup Tournament. Mahoney was also selected as a Coastal Plain League All-Star, starting at third base for the 2008 CPL American All-Star squad in Asheboro, N.C. Furthermore, he was also a two-time CPL Rawlings Hitter of the Week, earning that honor in week one and two of the regular season.
2008 Rawlings Hitters of the Week
Hitter of the Week (Week 9):
Anthony Gallas (Kent State) Peninsula (Week 9)
Hitter of the Week (Week 8):
Wes Hobson (Appalachian State) Thomasville (Week 8)
Hitter of the Week (Week 7):
Brandon Casamassima (Marshall) Gastonia (Week 7)
Eddie Van Es (Tennessee Wesleyan) Peninsula (Week 7)
Hitter of the Week (Week 6):
C.J. Beatty (North Carolina A&T) Thomasville (Week 6)
Hitter of the Week (Week 5):
Packy Elkins (Belmont) Wilson (Week 5)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 4):
Mike Alvarez (Florida Gulf Coast) Wilmington (Week 4)
Brett Nommensen (Eastern Illinois) Edenton (Week 4)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 3):
Sonny Meade (The Citadel) Thomasville (Week 3)
Will Skinner (Walters State) Forest City (Week 3)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 2):
Doug Kroll (Oklahoma State) Edenton (Week 2)
Kevin Mahoney (Canisius) Forest City (Week 2)
Co-Hitters of the Week (Week 1):
Jerry Sands (Catawba College) Wilson (Week 1)
Kevin Mahoney (Canisius) Forest City (Week 1)
Additional Individual Power Hitting Performances:
Blake Forsythe (Tennessee) Thomasville (Week 1):
Forsythe finished the week with a .333 average through seven starts, racking up eight hits, including a double and three home runs, tied for a league-best on the week.
Parker Bangs (South Carolina) Fayetteville (Week 2):
Bangs went a perfect 5-for-5 June 14 in Fayetteville’s 32-5 win over Wilmington. Of his five hits, one was for a double and one was for a homer, as he went on to tally a team-high seven RBIs (tied a league record) to go with five runs scored, and was walked once.
Chris McGuiness (The Citadel) Thomasville (Week 5):
McGuiness, a sophomore from The Citadel, went 6-of-18 on the week, with a double and three home runs. He tallied five runs scored and six RBIs, as well as 16 total bases and being walked seven times. McGuiness also featured an .889 slugging percentage and a .520 on-base percentage on the week.
2008 Rawlings CPL Defensive Player of the Year:
Justin Sarratt (Clemson) Thomasville HiToms
Sarratt, a sophomore from Clemson and Gaffney, S.C., made a total of eight appearances, all starts, on the mound this summer for the HiToms. Overall, the 5-10, 195-pound right-hander finished the regular season with a 7-1 record and a very impressive 1.06 ERA, the third lowest in the league. His seven wins were tied for second most in the CPL on the season. Furthermore, Sarratt featured two complete games, with one being a shutout of the Gastonia Grizzlies during game one of a doubleheader on July 12.
In 59 1/3 innings pitched, he allowed only eight runs - seven earned - on 35 hits, while walking a mere nine and striking out 57. Sarratt also held opposing batters to a low .172 average against him (third-best in CPL), and featured a league-best 0.74 WHIP on the regular season.
With Sarratt on the mound, Thomasville won the West Second Half Divisional crown in 2008. The HiToms also entered the 2008 CPL Petitt Cup Championship Tournament as the top seed and went on to win its third straight championship.
In the 2008 Petitt Cup Tournament, he made one appearance, a complete game effort against Peninsula in the second round. In nine innings of work, Sarratt gave up one run, earned, on 10 hits, walked none and struck out eight.
Sarratt also started the 2008 Coastal Plain League All-Star Game for the National CPL All-Star team, pitching one inning of hitless baseball. Even more noteworthy was that he was the only player during the 2008 season to be named a Rawlings Pitcher (or Hitter) of the Week for three weeks. He earned that honor during weeks three, four and six of the 2008 regular season.
2008 Rawlings Pitchers of the Week
Pitcher of the Week (Week 9):
Chas Byrne (East Tennessee State) Martinsville (Week 9)
Pitcher of the Week (Week 8):
Christopher Nelson (Chowan) Petersburg (Week 8)
Tri-Pitchers of the Week (Week 7):
Ryne Mantooth (Austin Peay State) Wilson (Week 7)
Tyler McBride (Winthrop) Columbia (Week 7)
John Cornley (Wofford) Outer Banks (Week 7)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 6):
Justin Sarratt (Clemson) Thomasville (Week 6)
Mike Nihsen (Creighton) Fayetteville (Week 6)
Tri-Pitchers of the Week (Week 5):
Steve Batman (Florida Southern) Peninsula (Week 5)
Kevin Moreland (Christopher Newport) Peninsula (Week 5)
Alex Fairweather (Catawba College) Asheboro (Week 5)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 4):
Chris Patterson (Appalachian State) Fayetteville (Week 4)
Justin Sarratt (Clemson) Thomasville (Week 4)
Tri-Pitchers of the Week (Week 3):
Steve Batman (Florida Southern) Peninsula (Week 3)
Justin Sarratt (Clemson) Thomasville (Week 3)
Luke Demko (Rhode Island) Edenton (Week 3)
Co-Pitchers of the Week (Week 2):
Brad Kledzik (Wake Forest) Gastonia (Week 2)
Luke Demko (Rhode Island) Edenton (Week 2)
Tri-Pitchers of the Week (Week 1):
Steve Grife (Mercyhurst) Florence (Week 1)
Daniel Barnes (Princeton) Petersburg (Week 1)
Carson McLean (UNC-Asheville) Asheboro (Week 1)
Additional Individual Power Pitching Performances
Daniel Wood (VMI) Petersburg (Week 1):
Wood, a 6-3, 180-pound lefty, made four appearances on the week in relief for the Generals, earning two saves. He finished with an ERA of 0.93 and struck out 12 in 9 2/3 innings of work.
John Anderson (Louisiana Tech) Thomasville (Week 4):
Anderson, a 6-2, 195-pound sophomore right-hander at Louisiana Tech, pitched a complete game, shutout on June 23 against rival Asheboro. In nine complete innings pitched, Anderson only gave up three hits and walked none, while striking out an impressive 13.
Sam Heaps (Elizabethtown College) Martinsville (Week 9):
Heaps, a 6-4, 200-pound junior from Elizabethtown College, pitched a complete game, shutout on August 2 against Florence. In nine innings pitched, the right-hander gave up just six hits, walked none and struck out 14.