MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Martin Methodist Baseball team will begin play at the Southern States Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Thursday afternoon at Patterson Park in Montgomery, Alabama.

OFFICIAL SSAC RELEASE

The RedHawks arrived in Montgomery Wednesday afternoon and six RedHawks were recognized at Wednesday night's awards banquet for their play on the field and in the classroom this season.

Senior outfielder Conner Rivers picked up a pair of plaques Wednesday night as he was named Second Team All-SSAC and also earned a nod on the league's All-Academic squad. Rivers was the best hitter for the RedHawks in 2017 as he posted a .364 average on the season, but notched a league-best .427 average in conference play. Rivers was chosen as the Designated Hitter for the league's Second Team All-SSAC list.

Freshman outfielder Kevin Grove landed on the league's All-Freshman team after a strong first season as a RedHawk. Grove made 34 starts for the RedHawks and batted .301 to go along with a .425 slugging percentage.

Junior infielder Alex McKelvy was named the team's Champions of Character representative for his involvement in the community and on-campus.

In addition to Rivers, Britten Abbott, Rob McMasters and Zach Rowe were also named to the league's All-Academic team.

The RedHawks (16-28-1) earned the No. 7 seed in the eight-team tournament and will meet No. 2 seed Faulkner (Ala.) University in their opener at 4 p.m. The Eagles (43-10) swept the regular-season series when the teams met in Pulaski in March.