Junior Seth Maness was voted conference player of the year and Jeff Hewitt the coach of the year.
Seniors Derek Kirk, Bruce Koenig and Eric Shinn, and sophomore Josh Haley were the other all-conference selections from the Patriots. Senior Ryan Summer-ford earned honorable mention.
Pinecrest shared the conference title with Scotland County, finishing at 13-1 in the league and 20-5 overall. The Patriots defeated J.H. Rose 3-2 behind the pitching of Maness in the first round of the state playoffs before losing 5-2 at New Hanover in the second round.
They were ranked sixth in the state in the final Impact Baseball poll.
"It was just a great year," Hewitt said, "and the kids got rewarded that should have. One thing I can say from the bottom of my heart is that we have great kids on this team.
"But while we had a great year, we're definitely not satisfied."
Maness was the winning pitcher, Shinn got the save and Koenig hit a two-run homer in a pivotal 2-1 early-season win over Scotland. The Scots were ranked first in the state at the time and went on to play for the state title this weekend. Maness also picked up a pair of big wins over Richmond County during an 11-1 season.
The right-hander, who will be playing for an Impact Baseball showcase team this summer, pitched a total of 86 innings, allowing 60 hits and striking out 124 batters while walking six. He finished with an ERA of 1.47. He played second base when he wasn't pitching and batted .420, including 24 runs, nine doubles and two home runs.
"I was giving Seth the MVP award for the team and I just got emotional," Hewitt said. "He's basically a kid that we jumped on board and he carried the load. We put a lot of pressure on him and he got it done.
"It's a great honor to have one of our players be player of the year and one of our ex-players (Taylor Norfleet) be the rookie of the year in the Peach Belt Conference (at Francis Marion)."
Hewitt called Shinn, his other starting pitcher, a coach on the field, when he was catching for the Patriots. Opponents only stole two bases on him all season. As a pitcher, he went 6-3, after compiling a 7-2 record in his junior year. In 45 innings, he allowed 37 hits, struck out 65 and walked 15 with an ERA of 2.00.
Shinn batted .368. He plans to attend Ohio State and try to walk on with the baseball team.
Kirk, headed for Methodist College, did not commit an error at third base until the 19th game and only two on the season. The left-handed batter hit .323 and was second on the team in RBIs with 18.
The leading run producer for the Patriots was Koenig with 21 RBIs. The slick-fielding shortstop batted .348 and shared the team lead in home runs with Summerford (five). He and Summerford, the Patriot first baseman, both plan to play college baseball, but have not made their final decisions.
Haley, the Patriot center fielder, gave his team both speed and pop in the bat from the lead-off position. He hit .403, leading the team in runs scored with 26.
Earlier in the week, team awards were handed out during a get-together for the players and their families. In addition to MVP (Maness), Seth Yarborough was recognized as the most improved player, Shinn and Kirk received coaches awards, Summerford was the best defensive player and Koenig the best offensive player.
Kirk, Shinn, Summerford, Yarborough and Adam Johnson were the senior members of the squad.
Next year's returnees will include juniors Maness, second baseman Luc Oullette, catcher-designated hitter Russell Blue, outfielders Justin Richardson and Ryan Sprouse, and sophomores Haley and pitcher-first baseman Chais Beloso.
Hewitt won his first conference title in his seventh year as the head baseball coach at Pinecrest. After picking up his 100-career victory early in the season, he is now 115-53 overall at the school. His teams have compiled a record of 67-27 in conference play.
He thinks a different offseason regimen from previous years contributed to the success of this year's team.
"This was a year that we really dedicated ourselves to the weight room right from the get-go," he said. "The skills were there, we just needed to get stronger."
The Patriot junior varsity, 17-2, finished second in the conference to Richmond County.
