Oceanside Minor Baseball product Brandon Nicoll has been a big hit in his freshman year with the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders.
The third baseman was a consistent hitter for the Muleriders in the regular season in the Great American Conference, an NCAA Div. II circuit.
Nicoll was instrumental in helping the Muleriders finish first in the GAC. They went on to win their sixth GAC Tournament title with a 17-9 win over Henderson State and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. II Central Regional Championships.
The native of Coombs finished the regular season with a hitting average of .330 and a slugging percentage of .591, which are both in the top five on the Muleriders. He is only one of four players in the team to start all 48 regular season games and the lone player in the GAC to enter post-season play with more than 200 at bats, with his 233 total plate appearance ranked second in the conference.
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Nicoll led the Muleriders with 67 hits, 60 runs-batted-in, 120 total bases, 21 doubles, and was second in runs with 58. Nicoll was third in home runs with 10.
The 21 doubles Nicoll tallied in the regular season ranks first in the GAC and 14th throughout the United States. His 67 hits ranks fifth in the GAC and his 60 RBIs ranked fourth in the league. He also ranked fourth the GAC in runs scored with 58. Of Nicoll’s 67 hits, nearly half garnered extra bases.
He had nine games where he posted a least three hits and also owns two of the team’s six five-hit performances this season. His on-base percentage of .403 was aided by 20 walks.
Nicoll was named to the all-GAC second team.
This summer, Nicoll hoped to play for the Nanaimo Owls in the West Coast League but he ended up signing with the Lethbridge Bulls.
— NEWS Staff