SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State baseball placed ten student-athletes on the 2023 All-CCAA team. The list was highlighted by
Nick Upstill on the First Team. Upstill is the first Gator to earn First Team honors since 2018.
Daniel Santos and
Michael Cunningham both earned Second Team honors.
Matt Sugden,
Kody Gardner,
Gavin Haimovitz,
Justin Clark,
Sammy Gonzales,
Gary Grosjean and
Nathan Shinn rounded out the list with Honorable Mention Honors. Ten CCAA honorees is the most the Gators have had in school history.
The starting left fielder for the Gators, Upstill led the conference in batting average for a good chunk of the season. Upstill played and started in 46 of 48 games and finished the regular season with the ninth best batting average in the conference at .370. His 68 hits led the Gators and was the sixth most in the conference. Upstill's nine triples on the season not only leads the conference but sits atop of the NCAA heading into postseason. With 12 career triples, Upstill is the program record holder in that category.
The 2022 CCAA Freshman of the Year and an Honorable Mention selection a season ago, Santos moved up to second team after taking over as the starting second basemen midway through the season. Santos slashed .314/.394/.547 with the second most hits on the team at 58. He hit nine doubles and a pair of home runs to close out the regular season.
Cunningham's power hitting earned him a spot on the Second Team at Designated Hitter. Playing 42 games with 39 starts, Cunningham hit six doubles, two triples and a team high eight home runs for the Gators. The eight home runs rank tenth in the conference and is tied for ninth in a single season.
Gardner earned Honorable Mention for a second year in a row after taking over as the starting first basemen. He was named CCAA Player of the Week twice this season. Gardner slashed .336/.398/.547 and led the team with 32 RBIs. He had 49 hits on the season with ten of them doubles, one triple and five home runs. Defensively, Gardner helped turn 22 double plays.
In his first season with the Gators, Haimovitz locked down the third base position. His batting average of .338 ranked third on the team and he finished the season second on the team in doubles (12), walks (17) and RBIs (31). Haimovitz turned 15 double plays, second behind Gardner.
Returning to the team after attending Chabot College in 2021 and 2022, Sugden was the starting catcher for the Gators while also earning time occasional at first base. Sugden slashed .331/.394/.504 and record 42 hits with eight doubles, one triple and four home runs.
In his final season playing baseball,
Justin Clark finished second on the team and thirteenth in the conference with a batting average of .358. He led the team with 13 doubles and 18 walks. Clark also had a pair of triples and home runs.
Gonzales anchored the outfield at centerfield, seemingly making spectacular defensive plays regularly. He slashed .286/.386/.385 with eight doubles and four triples. His four triples were second in the conference behind teammate Upstill and helped the Gators finish the regular season with a conference leading 24 triples.
Shinn earned honorable mention after entering his sophomore year as one of the top pitchers for the Gators. The southpaw finished the regular season with a 4.42 ERA and 6-3 record and a save. Shinn's 68 strikeouts are the fifth most thrown in the conference and is eighth most in a single season. He threw 11 in a win over Cal Poly Poma on April 28
th, the most any CCAA Pitcher has thrown this season.
Grosjean rounds out the conference recipients for the Gators. He goes into postseason with a 3-5 record, 5.31 ERA and 60 strikeouts, seventh most in the conference. His 128 career strikeouts are one shy of cracking the all-time top ten list.
The Gators go into the CCAA Tournament as the #5 seed. They will face #4 Cal Poly Pomona on Wednesday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. Ranked fifth in the first NCAA Regional poll, the Gators will look for a strong tournament run to bolster their chances of making the NCAA Regional Tournament.
