LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Senior
Benji Sutherland was selected to the 2013 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team College Division Baseball Team while fellow senior
Nick Turner earned second-team honors as the teams were relased on Tuesday.
Sutherland, who was a third-team Academic All-America honors last year, becomes just the second first-team member in Biola's history and the first since Meghan Warkentin was named to the first-team in 2008. Turner also was third second-team selection in Biola's history
Sutherland, a senior outfielder from Orange, Calif., posted a 3.86 GPA while completing work on a degree in pastoral ministries. Sutherland was also a star on the field, posting a .344 batting average with a team-high 65 hits. He added 35 runs, 34 RBIs and was 7-for-9 in stolen base attempts all while striking out just 12 times in 189 at-bats.
Sutherland also led the team with 19 multi-hit games and had a team-best 13-game hitting streak midway through the season. He played impressive defense as well, recording three outfield assists and making numerous difficult plays from the centerfield position.
Turner, a senior from Palos Verdes, Calif., wraps up his time at Biola with a solid 3.54 GPA while working toward a degree in journalism. He was also one of the conference's top pitchers, posting a 9-5 record with 3.14 ERA in 15 appearances. His 100-1/3 innings pitched were among the tops in the conference and he led the GSAC with an impressive 85:18 strikeout to walk ratio.
Turner threw six complete games out of 14 starts including three shutouts and also added his first career save. He also held opposing hitters to a .250 batting average.
Biola had a school-best 12 Academic All-Americans last year and has had 19 in the 60 years Academic All-America awards have been given. Earlier this year, men's soccer player Scott Hayes was named to the men's soccer third-team.
The college division first-team is comprised of the NAIA, Canadian and junior colleges in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska and the 13 provinces and territories in Canada. Sutherland was one of two GSAC athletes represented on the first team along with Arizona Christian University senior Jacob Storrer. The Master's College's Steven Karkenny and Arizona Christian's Kendall Konopka earned third-team recognition.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Only student-athletes who earned first-team Academic All-District status are eligible for Academic All-America honors.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
