Torres earns three national pitcher of the year honors

Placido Torres

Tusculum College’s Placido Torres has earned himself a place in Tusculum history has he has  been named the recipient of not one, not two, but three “National Pitcher of the Year” awards.

Torres has been named the 2016 NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association; the 2016 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner’s National Baseball Pitcher of the Year (selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America) and the the 2016 NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Year by the National College Baseball Writers Association

In addition, he has been named the recipient of the  third annual Brett Tomko Award, which recognizes the DII National Pitcher of the Year by D2BaseballNews.com. The annual award is bestowed to a college baseball pitcher whose on the field performance is deemed the most outstanding at the NCAA Division II level.

Torres is the first player in program history to earn national pitcher of the year laurels. He is the 21st baseball All-American in Tusculum history and the sixth Pioneer pitcher to garner All-America recognition.

He joins former Pioneers on the ABCA All-America list including: Guy O’Connell (2003), Greg Stotser (2006), Carlos Rivera (2007), Maikol Gonzalez (2008), Alexi Colon (2012) and Craig Goodman (2012).

The senior left-hander, from North Brunswick, N.J., is also a consensus DII Southeast Region Pitcher of the Year honoree, receiving the recognition from the NCBWA, ABCA and D2CCA. He was also named the 2015-16 Tusculum College Male Athlete of the Year.

Torres has accounted for the best season ever by a Tusculum hurler as he owns a perfect 11-0 record in his 14 starts where he pitched seven complete games, including a TC-single-season record four shutouts.

His 11 wins tied for second-most in a TC season and are the most by a Pioneer hurler during the NCAA Division II era (1999-present). His 0.70 earned run average is best in NCAA II (4th for all NCAA divisions) and is a new program and conference record. He leads all three NCAA divisions with a school single-season record 162 strikeouts. His seasonal strikeout total is the second most in SAC history and the 10th most in NCAA II history. He threw a school record 116 innings this season where he allowed 24 walks and limited the opposition to a .154 batting average. He also leads NCAA II in fewest hits allowed per nine innings pitched (4.73).

Earlier this season, the two-time All-SAC first team selection recorded a school single-game record 17 strikeouts against Stillman. He has posted 12 or more strikeouts on eight occasions this year, including 15 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout over Wingate, earning him national pitcher of the week honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Torres has been named SAC Pitcher of the Week six times and NCBWA Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week on four occasions.

Torres pitched a pair of complete game victories in his two postseason starts this year. He tossed a four-hit shutout in Tusculum’s SAC Tournament opener against Lincoln Memorial, earning him a spot on the SAC All-Tournament Team. He followed that with last Saturday’s nine-inning complete game victory over 15th-ranked Belmont Abbey in an elimination contest of the NCAA II Southeast Regional in Columbus, Georgia. In that game, he allowed a run on seven hits, with two walks and a dozen strikeouts.

During his two-year Tusculum career, he amassed a 20-3 record in his 31 mound appearances with a 1.43 ERA which is the lowest ever by a Pioneer pitcher. In his 27 career starts, he has pitched eight complete games, including a program-record five shutouts. His 272 career strikeouts are a new TC record and are the sixth-most in the SAC record book. His 201.1 career innings pitched are sixth in program history, while his 20 wins are fifth-most by a Pioneer.

Tusculum finished the year with a 38-18 overall record, including wins in five of its last seven games. The Pioneers captured a share of the SAC Tournament title for the program’s fourth league postseason crown. Tusculum earned the program its seventh NCAA II Tournament appearance, which are the second most of any SAC member. The Pioneers have accounted for 16 consecutive winning seasons, including 14 straight 30-win campaigns.

The Pioneers posted a 2-2 record at the NCAA II Southeast Regional to claim third place honors. The Pioneers lost its opening game 2-1 to 19th-ranked USC Aiken before bouncing back with wins over Belmont Abbey (7-1) and Mount Olive (3-2) before falling to USC Aiken again in the elimination bracket final.

Torres pitched a pair of complete game victories in his two postseason starts this year.