Five Dirt Dawgs Headline the 2017 All-FCBL Team

Five Wachusett Dirt Dawgs players were recognized by the Futures Collegiate Baseball League office on Wednesday afternoon, as the conference announced its 2017 All-FCBL teams. The individuals chosen for the First and Second teams are those who have showed excellent skill on the field throughout the 2017 summer season. The First team is comprised of 18 players: 13 from the East and five from the West. 21 players represent the Second Team: nine from the East and 12 from the West.

 

Zack Tower (Franklin Pierce) was the lone Dirt Dawgs on the first team with his appearance at first base/DH. Tower’s bat was the offensive driving force for the Wachusett offense. Earlier this off season, the Auburn native was named the FCBL MVP, and was one of the Collegiate Summer Baseball’s Top National hitters this summer. He paced the FCBL with a team record 18 homeruns and 50 RBI’s, while finishing in the top 15 in batting average with .319. Tower also lead the league with a 1.079 on-base percentage over the course of the season.

 

On the second team, Wachusett had four members represented.  Bradley Wood (Northern Ill) maintained a .319 batting average, with five homeruns and 22 runs batted in. The Husky had 13 games this season with multiple hits, including a stretch of 8 out of 10 games that he had multiple hits. Joining Wood on the second team, was leadoff hitter Jack Gethings (Fairfield). Gethings had three five or more game hitting streak. He lead the Dirt Dawgs and finished 11th in the FCBL with his .323 batting average, which included five homeruns and 32 RBI. He finished eighth in the league with 23 walks, while also the third Wachusett player with 15 or more stolen bases.

 

Kyla Cala (Wagner) got the call to the second team with an outfield position. Cala batted .313 with five longballs and 27 RBI. In the field, he had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 47 putouts and a pair of outfield assists. On the hill, Mike Demarest (Adephi) got the nod. In 20 appearances in the regular season, Demarest pitched 24.0 innings and had a team record 0.75 ERA with 32 strikeouts to just nine walks. All season long, the right hander only allowed one extra base hit to go along with one save.