Austin Stadler was a unanimous choice for the DigitalSports baseball player of the year.
Austin Stadler is clutch.
There is no other way to put it.
Stadler's performances under pressure and the ridiculous season he had for
James River made him the obvious choice for DigitalSports player of the year.
In the state tournament the pitcher/first baseman won the quarterfinal, semifinal and final games on the mound as the Rapids repeated as state Group AAA champions.
If that isn't clutch enough for you, Stadler hit a walk-off home run in extra innings of the semifinals to propel James River to the title contest.
During the regular season the Central Region player of the year batted .604 with six homers and 26 RBI. On the mound Stadler was 5-3 with a 3.42 ERA and had 47 strikeouts.
Stadler was also the state player of the year and was named to the 2008 All-USA baseball second team as a pitcher.
He is headed to play in college at Wake Forest as a pitcher and first baseman
and was drafted in the 40th round by the San Francisco Giants in this year’s MLB
Draft.