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Former UNCG Student Andrew Moritz Heads to the Big Leagues

By carolinianweb on June 27, 2018 • ( 0 )

PC: UNCG Athletics

Alexis Pitchford
Staff Writer

In the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Draft, the Atlanta Braves have selected former UNCG outfielder Andrew Moritz. Being the 172nd pick in the draft, Moritz signed a contract with the Braves for $242,500. The Carolinian was able to speak with Moritz about his transition to the Major Leagues.

“The main difference between college and the major leagues is that you’re on your own. You’re accountable for everything,” Mortiz said.

Moritz finished his career with a .406 batting average. He was the 2018 SoCon Player of the Year and First-team All-Southern Conference selection. Moritz has also earned five all-American honors in just this season, including ABCA First-Team All-America, Third-Team All-American by Perfect Game/Rawlings, Second-Team All-America by D1Baseball.com and Google Cloud Second Team Academic All-America.

He was a Third-Team All-American selection from Baseball America, which was the first Spartan to earn All-American honors from Baseball America. He is a two-time SoCon All-Tournament team selection as well. Aside from individual successes, Moritz helped the Spartans become SoCon Regular Season Champions in 2018 and SoCon Tournament Champions in 2017. He plans on bringing his competitive spirit to the Braves roster.

For his junior year, Moritz led the team in triples, RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He set a new school record for triples in a season with ten. He finished with 23 career triples, which is the new UNCG and SoCon record for career triples. He also holds the UNCG record for career batting average (.406).

Moritz led the SoCon in other ways besides his batting average; he led the conference in hits (92), RBI (61) and triples (10) in the 2018 baseball season. Outside of just the SoCon, Moritz was at the top of the list in several categories on a national level. He finished second in the NCAA in batting average (.428), second in triples, seventh in hits, 14th in on-base percentage, 28th in RBI per game, 33rd in total RBI, 39th in runs scored and 46th in slugging percentage.

During his time at UNCG, Coach Link Jarrett played a huge roll in Moritz’s success. According to Moritz, Coach Jarrett “taught (him) how to approach the game better mentally and physically, despite already being a natural talent.” Moritz has been exceptional since his freshman season since he was selected on to the SoCon All-Freshman Team and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team.

Not only did Moritz excel on the field, but he also excelled in the classroom. He earned a Google Cloud Academic All-District selection for the second straight season. Moritz was selected for the Commissioner’s Medal twice and was on the SoCon honor roll twice. Moritz stated that “(he) will mostly miss his teammates, friends, and student body” from UNCG.

Several other UNCG Baseball players were picked in the 2018 MLB Draft as well. Senior pitcher Andrew Wantz was selected in the seventh round by the LA Angels. He is the career-save leader at UNCG with 19 saves and third in program history with 278 strikeouts.

For his senior season, he was a second-team All-SoCon selection and captain of the baseball team. He was the SoCon Pitcher of the Month for February. He held a team high of 10 saves in 55.0 innings while striking out 81 hitters and holding opponents to a .214 average. Overall at UNCG, he was a preseason All-SoCon selection, First-Team All-SoCon selection in his junior season, two-time SoCon honor roll selection, co-Pitcher of the Year and SoCon All-Freshman team selection.

Pitcher Matt Frisbee was selected in the 15th round by the San Francisco Giants. The right-handed starter was the SoCon Pitcher of the Year in which he tied seventh in the nation in victories and led the team in strikeouts (116) in 911/3 innings.

Cesar Trejo was selected in the 17th round by the Seattle Mariners. The junior outfielder led the team in extra-base hits (26) and steals (22). Trejo batted a .363 batting average, recorded five home runs, and 50 RBIs which was fourth in the SoCon last season.

Pitcher Jack Maynard was selected in the 25th round by the Chicago White Sox. Last year, he was selected in the 21st round by the Diamondbacks. He held the team best of 2.13 ERA in a team-high of 29 relief appearances. Pitcher Bryce Hensley was selected in the 22nd round by the Kansas City Royals.