Demar Earns All-GCAC 1st Team, Berrien & Franks Land On 2nd Team

JACKSON, Miss. – The Rust College baseball program was represented on the All-GCAC Team three times as announced by the league office Thursday night as Jalik Demar was a First Team selection while both Malik Berrien and JaShaun Franks were Second Teamers.

The Bearcats had the fourth-most student-athletes across the two squads, trailing Talladega's eight, Wiley's seven, and SUNO's four while having more players than Dillard (2) and Oakwood, Tougaloo, plus Philander Smith who all got left out.

Demar, a junior third baseman from Columbus, Georgia, slotted fourth in the conference regarding doubles (11) and was a defensive wizard at the hot corner by making 72 assists, fifth-highest in the league. For the season, he hit .286 with 34 hits, 23 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 19 RBIs, nine walks, a home run plus a triple.

Berrien, a junior second baseman from Tampa, Florida, ranked eighth in the nation with 38 stolen bases out of 43 attempts for a success rate of 88.4%. He also scored the fourth-most runs in the GCAC at 44, was eighth in terms of doubles (9) and collected the ninth-best number of hits (43). As of this writing, he hit .303 with 25 RBIs, 13 walks, and two triples.

Franks, a senior outfielder from Atlanta, Georgia, put together three triples, 15 extra-base knocks, and nine doubles to all land among the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference's top-ten. He led the Bearcats on all three levels of the slash line; batting average (.386), on-base percentage (.513) and slugging (.659); on top of 34 hits, 31 runs scored, 24 RBIs, 20 walks, seven steals, and a trio of long balls.

The Diamond Cats look to continue its fairytale story on Friday at 5:30 p.m. as one of the two remaining undefeated ballclubs in the Semifinals with a triumph over #2 Talladega earning Coach Bates' men an improbable back-to-back Championship Game appearance.

#BatesBall | #PawsUp | #GCACRising