Diamond standouts Fidanza and Patterson receive honors

Georgia Perimeter College baseball catcher John Fidanza was named Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Co-defensive Player of the Year, while softball shortstop Kacie Patterson was selected to the All-GCAA first team for the second consecutive year.

Baseball Jaguars David Van Horn and Wes Armstrong joined Fidanza on the all-conference first team. Four GPC players were named to the second team— McLendon Hill, Antonio Allen, Monte’ Reese and Christian Turnipseed.

The Jaguars finished the season with a 43-16 record. They were eliminated in the conference tournament—held at GPC’s Newton Campus—by Gordon College, which placed third at the NJCAA World Series. Allen made the all-tournament team.

Patterson led the softball conference in hitting with a .475 batting average, and her career fielding percentage was .960.

“Kacie is hands down the most complete college athlete I have coached,” said new head coach Ken Deyton.

Outfielder Rachel Martinez and pitcher-first baseman Lauren Bell were named to the all-conference second team. Martinez, a freshman, was the nation’s second-leading hitter with a phenomenal .568 average, but she was sidelined for a long stretch by an injury.

Georgia Perimeter was eliminated in the GCAA tournament and fell short of 30 wins for the first time in eight seasons, finishing with a 26-16 record, 13-5 in the GCAA (tied for second place). Bell and freshman pitcher-first baseman Stephanie Satterfield were named to the all-tournament team