GSC POSTSEASON AWARDS
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Mike Jeffcoat has been named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year, Andrew Vaccacio has been named GSC Pitcher of the Year, Tony Rossi has been named GSC Freshman of the Year, and six Argonauts have been named to the All-Conference teams. The Argos lead all programs with five All-GSC First Team selections.
 
"It took our whole team's effort to win the GSC regular season champonship," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "Proud of some of these individual performances and the awards they have earned to give our university more recognition."
 
Vaccacio and fellow hurlers Tony Kucera and Daniel Floyd were named to the All-GSC First Team. Outfielders Matt Sullivan and Matthew Estrada joined them on the All-GSC First Team. Catcher/designated hitter Mike Farnell was selected to the All-GSC Second Team.
 
The GSC Coach of the Year honor is the fifth of head coach Mike Jeffcoat's 14-year tenure as Argonaut head baseball coach. Jeffcoat last captured the award in 2016, when he also led the Argos to a regular season GSC title. Since 2007, only Jeffcoat and Delta State skipper Mike Kinnison have won the award five times. The two have combined to win the honor 10 times in the last 13 years.
 
"The Coach of the Year award is really a team award to me," said Jeffcoat. "I was happy that we were able to win the regular season championship. It's just a great credit to our staff and our players' hard work and dedication."
 
The Pitcher of the Year award puts an exclamation point on a phenomenal regular season for Vaccacio, a Dr. Phillips, Florida native who spent last season pitching at Appalachian State. He is the fourth Argo in the last seven years to win the honor. He is second in the conference with a 2.49 ERA and third with 79 strikeouts. The left-handed Dr. Phillips High alum averaged 11.64 strikeouts per nine innings this regular season.
 
"We knew when we signed Andrew coming in as a senior transfer that he was going to be a guy who was going to probably step in right at the top of the rotation, and he lived up to that billing," said Jeffcoat. "Once he got healthy, he was lights out, and he was definitely a big part of our pitching staff's success."
 
The Freshman of the Year award caps an excellent opening regular season for right-handed pitcher Tony Rossi. He captured three GSC Freshman of the Week awards this season and adds the overall honor to a list of impressive accomplishments. In a mix of starts and relief appearances, Rossi went 4-3 with a 4.82 ERA. An Argonaut has now won the award each of the last two seasons, and the program has captured the award in three of the last six years.
 
"Tony Rossi had a great start to his college career," said Jeffcoat. "Just very proud of his freshman performance as well."
 
Kucera's selection to the All-GSC First Team should come as no surprise given the consistency he has demonstrated in his two years as an Argo starter. The lefty is 14-2 since joining the program in 2017-18. He is 7-1 on the season and is tied for third in the conference in wins. He is eighth in ERA at 3.05 and sixth in innings pitched at 73.2.
 
"I thought he was as consistent last year," Jeffcoat said of Kucera. "This year he just really worked hard in the weight room and wanted to be that guy at the top of the rotation and be able to give his team a chance to win each time out."

Floyd proved to be one of the most effective hurlers in the conference as well. The righty transfer from Chipley, Fla. and Wallace CC-Dothan provided consistency out of the bullpen in late February through March, piling up four saves and, for one stretch, allowing just two earned runs over 25 innings while striking out 24. He transitioned to the starting rotation full-time in late March. 
 
"Daniel Floyd did an outstanding job coming out of the pen and doing some spot starting for us in the mid-week and starting in the conference rotation the last couple of weeks," said Jeffcoat.
 
A GSC Pitcher of the Week (3/19) and South Region Pitcher of the Week (3/20), Floyd is the only pitcher in the Gulf South with five wins and four saves this year. He was fifth in opponent batting average (.201) and 10th in the conference in ERA (3.20).
 
Sullivan and Estrada have proven to be a dynamic duo at the top of the Argo order. A four-year player at UWF, Sullivan is third in the GSC with 47 runs scored and fourth with 16 doubles. He is seventh in the conference with a .598 slugging percentage. He is tied for eighth with 40 RBIs.
 
Estrada, last year's GSC Freshman of the Year, has been even better in his sophomore season. The outfielder from Pensacola is sixth in the GSC with a .378 average and seventh with a .469 OBP. The Catholic High alum has scored 36 runs and accumulated 56 hits in 39 games this season.
 
"It's an outstanding feat, having two of our outfielders represented on the all-conference teams," said Jeffcoat. "Estrada followed up his freshman campaign with another outstanding sophomore year. Sullivan has been the catalyst for our offense at the top of the order. Real proud of their efforts."
 
Farnell is the co-leader in the conference with a .493 on-base percentage. The transfer from Spanish Fort, Ala. and Murray State has been rock solid in his role as a designated hitter, catcher and occasional first baseman. He has 36 hits and 29 walks in 35 starts this season.
 
"Mike Farnell has been a big part of scoring a lot of runs and getting on base," said Jeffcoat. UWF is one of just two GSC teams with 300 runs scored this season. "Very happy with his performance and the overall performance of the team."
 
UWF has now had 61 selections to the All-GSC First Team and 61 selections to the All-GSC Second Team since 1998. West Florida opens postseason play May 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. The Argos are the No. 1 seed in the GSC Championship and will take on 8-seed Shorter in the opening round.
 
Full seeding and scheduling details for the GSC Baseball Championship are available here.

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