May 19, 2009
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State starting pitcher Chad Jenkins was named Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year as four KSU baseball players earned A-Sun All-Conference honors. Kenny Faulk joined Jenkins on the First Team while Kyle Heckathorn and Jace Whitmer earned Second Team All-Atlantic Sun honors.
Jenkins was a unanimous selection to the First Team in addition to earning Pitcher-of-the-Year honors. He became the first Kennesaw State pitcher to win a conference Pitcher of the Year award since Grant Reynolds won back-to-back Peach Belt Conference awards in 2002 and 2003.
The Calhoun, Ga., native had a scoreless streak that lasted 41 innings, as the righty did not allow a run for the entire month of April. He also had a steak of not allowing a walk that spanned 24.2 innings.
Jenkins finished the year as the conference's leader in earned run average at 2.54, wins with eight and topped the A-Sun with 92 innings pitched. He notched five complete games to his belt, with two complete game shutouts and one combined shutout.
The combined shutout came with fellow First Team A-Sun member Kenny Faulk. Faulk posted seven wins on the season and four saves to go along with an ERA of 3.16. Batters hit just .208 against Faulk for the season. He struck out 56 batters in 42.2 innings pitched.
Kyle Heckathorn landed a spot on the A-Sun Second Team. The junior posted a 4-1 record on the year, sporting an ERA of 3.44. He struck out 98 batters on the season, tying Jenkins for the KSU Division I record for strikeouts in a season. The Ringgold, Ga., native fanned 15 batters last Thursday at North Florida, the most for any A-Sun pitcher in at least three years.
Jace Whitmer joined Heckathorn as a Second Team All-Conference honoree. Whitmer became the first KSU player to hit 10 home runs in a season. The junior from Kennesaw led the Owls in slugging percentage with .603, total bases with 109, and tied Ric Bishop for the team lead in RBIs with 51.
The Owls finished the season with a record of 30-22, the third straight year the Owls finished with 30 wins. The Owls finished second in the A-Sun standings for the second consecutive year.
