Southern Conference Honors Titan Baseball Players

Nine Eastern Florida baseball players have received FCSAA All-Southern Conference honors.

The list is headed by sophomore right-hander Blair Calvo who was both a first-team pick and the conference pitcher of the year.

He's joined on the first team by classmates centerfielder Manny Rodriguez, catcher Luis (Jay) Ciuro, shortstop Vinny Capra and second baseman Norberto Navarro; and freshman rightfielder Sammy Duran.

Sophomores infielder John Capra and first baseman Ruben Garcia were named to the second team along with freshman catcher Gian Jimenez.

John Capra and Calvo were first-team picks for 2015 while Vinny Capra was a second-team honoree.

Calvo, from St. Augustine, Florida and Nease High, pitched 74 innings in 12 games, allowing 45 hits and 14 runs, eight of them earned. He walked 19 and struck out 77, amassing a 6-1 record and a best-in-nation 0.97 earned run average. He also recorded a save.

Rodriguez, from Orlando, Florida and Lake Nona High, played in 45 games, scoring 40 runs and collecting 68 hits for a .351 batting average. He walked 28 times. He also stole 12 bases and drove in 30 runs. In the field he recorded 99 put outs and five assists, committing two errors for a .970 fielding percentage.

Ciuro, from Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico and Montverde Academy, played in 31 games, scoring 16 runs and collecting 38 hits, none bigger than the 13^th-inning single that drove in the winning run against Palm Beach State to give the Titans their first outright NJCAA Gulf District/FCSAA Tournament berth under head coach Jeff Tam. Ciuro drove in 27 runs and hit .328.

He registered 170 put outs behind the plate, had seven assists and four errors for a .978 fielding percentage.

Capra, from Melbourne, Florida and Melbourne Central Catholic, played in 39 games. He scored 30 runs and had 59 hits including 11 doubles. He had five steals and 28 runs batted in, hitting .373.

He had 54 put outs in the field along with 110 assists and 11 errors for a .937 fielding percentage.

Navarro, from Carolina, Puerto Rico, played in 43 games. He scored 37 runs and had 59 hits for a .349 batting average. He stole 12 bases and drove in 27 runs. He had 72 put outs, 93 assists and eight errors for a .954 fielding percentage.

Duran, from Melbourne, Florida and Melbourne High, played in 47 games. He scored 48 runs and collected 79 hits, the most among first-team honorees. He had nine doubles, five triples, the most on the first team, and four home runs. He hit .401, the second-highest among first team picks. Duran stole 17 bases, once again the most among first-team picks and drove in 37 runs.

He had 97 put outs, six assists and no errors for a 1.000 fielding percentage.

The Titans finished second in the Southern Conference with a 17-11 record. They were 32-16 overall and 19-8 at home at Bruce Bochy Field.

They open play in the double-elimination postseason tournament at 7 p.m. May 15 against Mid-Florida Conference champion Santa Fe College at Lakeland's Henley Field.