LA VERNE, CA — Niko Urquidi has been tabbed SCIAC Newcomer of the Year, and head coach Scott Winterburn and staff have been named SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year by the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Additionally, Anthony Salcedo earned the SCIAC Character Award and five Leopards picked up 2024 Baseball All-SCIAC Baseball honors.
SCIAC Release
Urquidi picked up SCIAC Newcomer of the Year accolades and Second Team All-SCIAC honors after turning heads for his performances on the mound. He led the SCIAC with 33 strikeouts looking and ranked second with 79 total strikeouts. The Murrieta native led the Leopards and ranked sixth in the SCIAC with a 3.25 ERA. Urquidi gave up the second-fewest hits among pitchers recording 50 or more innings, second only to teammate Gerald Terry. He made 15 appearances and nine starts finishing the regular season with a 3-3 record. He struck out a career-high 13 batters in a 4-2 win over Pacific.
Winterburn and staff (Gabe Miranda, Mason Stoltenberg, Keith Prager, Justin Duarte, and Ryan McLernon) picked up SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the second year in a row after leading the Leopards to back-to-back SCIAC Regular Season Championships. Offensively, the Leopards led the SCIAC in runs (342) and triples (18). Additionally, they ranked second in batting average (.342), hits (442), doubles (91), and on-base percentage (.429) and ranked third in RBIs (293) and slugging percentage (.465).
Defensively, the Leopards led the conference in batting average against (.238) and ranked second in ERA (4.17) and strikeouts (360).
Anthony Salcedo is the third consecutive Leopard to earn the SCIAC Character Award. The senior from Murrieta has been a steady force for La Verne in five seasons as a Leopard. A selfless player, he's shown versatility and reliability defensively, is competitive at the plate, and is a terror on the basepath. He's accounted for 49 stolen bases, 64 RBIs, 125 hits, and 118 runs in his career.
Sophomore Catcher Nathan Perry and graduate student pitcher Gerald Terry were tabbed First Team All-SCIAC. Perry picked up first-team honors in consecutive seasons. He ranked in the top 10 in the SCIAC in several offensive categories including batting average (.396), slugging percentage (.568), on-base percentage (.479), OPS (1.047), runs (43), hits (55), and triples (3).
Terry earned First Team All-SCIAC honors for the third straight season. Terry had the lowest batting average against in the conference with opponents hitting just .197 against the La Verne native. He posted an 8-2 record on the mound, the third-most wins in the SCIAC. He finished the regular season in the top ten in ERA (3.32), strikeouts (68), and strikeouts looking (20).
Centerfielder Matthew Diaz and right fielder Logan Reese were named Second Team All-SCIAC. Diaz led the SCIAC with 60 hits and seven sacrifice flies. He paced La Verne with a .405 batting average and 13 stolen bases. He ranked in the top-10 in the conference in batting average, stolen bases, and runs (38).
Reese posted outstanding offensive numbers. He finished the regular season with a .360 batting average, a .530 slugging percentage, 33 runs, 33 RBIs, three home runs, 53 total bases, and 17 walks, all top five on the squad.
The Leopards open up the SCIAC Postseason Tournament tomorrow at home against Cal Lutheran. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Click here for tickets and more information.
