EMU's Spotts, R-MC's Spiers, H-SC's Gray Earn Special Honors

FOREST, Va. --- Virginia Wesleyan College took home two major honors as part of the 2015 ODAC Baseball Awards.  First baseman Zach Bach earned ODAC Player of the Year laurels, while lefty Sean Greiser was tabbed the ODAC Pitcher of the Year.  Eastern Mennonite University mentor Ben Spotts received ODAC Coach of the Year recognition, while Randolph-Macon College pitcher and outfielder Rick Spiers was selected as the ODAC Rookie of the Year.  Hampden-Sydney College first baseman Jeff Gray was named the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete in a vote of the league's sports information directors.

Bach, a senior from Virginia Beach, Va., has been an offensive standout in the resurgence of the Marlins baseball program, which is set to enter the ODAC Tournament for the first time since 2010.  Bach is fifth in the ODAC with a .400 batting average, adding to a 1.022 OPS powered by the league’s fourth-best on-base percentage at .464.  He is sixth in the conference in slugging at .558.  The numbers are just as good against ODAC competition only, with a slash line of .403/.463/.569.  Overall, Bach has smacked five doubles, churned out two triples and belted a pair of homers.  He has driven in 22 runs and scored 22 times.  He has hit safely in 21-of-25 games played, and enters the tournament as one of the hottest hitters in the league as he is riding a 14-game hitting streak.  He is batting .491 (26-for-53) during that stretch.

Greiser, a junior from Virginia Beach, Va., did the bulk of his work against league foes, going 5-1 with a 1.72 earned run average, the second-best mark against conference teams.  His 13.01 strikeouts per game top all players, as did his overall mark of 12.92 punchouts per nine innings.  He fanned 53 batters in 36.2 innings in league play, with those numbers reaching 56 in 39.0 overall.  Opposing batters hit only .145 against him in league, .152 overall.  Greiser has worked at least seven innings in each of his past three starts, giving up just two runs (one earned) on eight hits in 21.2 total innings.  He has fanned 28 and walked just two in those contests.

Spotts, in his third season guiding the Royals' baseball program, enjoys his first ODAC top coaching honor.  EMU is set to make its first appearance in the ODAC Tournament since 2002.  Spotts’ teams have gone from winning four conference games in 2013 and six in 2014 to 10 this season.  EMU won three of its final four ODAC games to earn a spot in the tourney field.

Spiers, a freshman from South Chesterfield, Va., put together a banner first season in Ashland, earning an All-ODAC First Team spot for his efforts on the mound and at the dish.  On the bump, Spiers went 4-2 against league foes and 6-2 overall marking the most wins of any pitcher in the ODAC.  In 56.0 overall innings of work, he struck out 46 and walked just eight to go with a 1.77 ERA.  With a bat in his hands, Spiers is hitting .333 overall with two doubles and five runs batted in.  He also owns a .408 on-base percentage.

Gray, a senior from Newport News, Va., shines for the Tigers on and off the field.  In the classroom, he owns a 3.87 grade point average while majoring in Biology.  A three-time All-ODAC Academic Team member and a 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Gray is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as Chi Beta Phi national biology honor society.  On the field, the three-time All-ODAC selection (third team this year) hit .321 with four doubles and 12 RBI during conference play.  He hit safely in 23-of-32 games played with 11 multi-hit games.

Listed below is a full list of the All-ODAC Baseball Awards.  For more information, visit the websites of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow the ODAC on Twitter at @odacathletics.