HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Valdosta State graduate student JP Gates added more postseason hardware Thursday as he was named National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association First Team All-South Region as a designated hitter and second team all-region as a relief pitcher, the organization announced.
 
Gates, a native of Brooksville, Fla., earned All-Gulf South Conference First Team honors as a designated hitter as he leads the team in batting average at a .394 clip on 76 of 193 from the dish, while playing in 48 games with 47 starts.  His average is good for fourth in the GSC and his 76 hits are second in the GSC and 59th nationally, while he has scored a team-high 46 runs with 18 doubles, seven home runs and 39 RBI.  The 18 two-baggers are good for second in the GSC and 61st nationally.  He is slugging a team-best .596 for the season and reaching base at a .446 clip with 11 walks and hit by pitches eight times and gone 7 of 10 in stolen bases.  
 
As well as earning all-region second team honors, Gates also earned Second Team All-GSC as a relief pitcher/utility.  He is 5-1 with a 3.29 ERA this season in 41 innings, pitching in 14 games with two starts.  Gates has allowed 41 hits, 21 runs - 15 earned, walked 19 and fanned 41 for third-most on the team as teams hit just .256 against him.  He pitched a season-high six innings against West Alabama (4/7) with a season-high ten strikeouts earning the win in relief.
 
Earning the specialty awards this season as Region Player of the Year is Sam Kuchinski of Montevallo, while Pitcher of the Year honors went to Dalton Neuschwander of West Florida, while Mike Jeffcoat, head coach at West Florida, was named South Region Coach of the Year for NCBWA.  
 
Click here for the complete NCBWA All-South Region Team.  First Team selections will now advance to the All-America ballot, which will announced on June 4.

For the GSC, West Florida led the way with four honorees, while Alabama Huntsville had three.  Montevallo and West Georgia each had two recipients and VSU, Shorter and Lee each had one selection.  
 
Gates and the Blazers open the 2023 NCAA South Regional Thursday evening at 5 p.m. versus Rollins College at the University of Tampa.  Click here for the NCAA South Regional Central page to find links to live stats and streaming.