Baseball / Golden Claims 2018 NECBL Sports of the Year Award

Golden Claims 2018 NECBL Sports of the Year Award

Date:  Source: New England Collegiate Baseball League

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – After being named the Christopher Ashmos 10th Player Award last week, Keene infielder Mitchell Golden (Georgia Southern) claimed yet another end-of-year accolade on Sunday after being named the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Sportsman of the Year.

In his first summer with the Swamp Bats, Golden established himself as a team leader on the field and in the community, making a tangible impact for a Swamp Bats franchise that won 24 games and qualified for the postseason.

Golden was as reliable as they come for Keene. The Georgia Southern product batted well over .300 -- .324 to be precise – and had 45 hits in 139 at-bats along with 29 runs, 10 doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs. He slashed .324/.428/.439 for the summer and finished with a .867 OPS. He played 30 games at short stop, 11 at second and nine more at third base to account for one of the Swamp Bats’ most versatile players. He was the Fan Vote winner for the All-Star Game, as well.

A Marietta, Georgia, native, Golden also added 12 stolen bases and was a true spark plug for the Swamp Bags lineup. He played in and started 54 games at third base and shortstop for Georgia Southern this past spring, hitting .254/.338/.353 as a sophomore.

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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and is enjoying its 25th-year anniversary season this summer. The New England League has sent nearly 150 alumni to the Major Leagues and has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 10 Major League Baseball Drafts. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on TwitterInstagram and on Facebook.