Three players from the VCU Rams men’s baseball team were recognized in the Atlantic 10 end-of-season awards, according to a May 19 announcement. Patrick Steitz and Zachary Peters earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 selections, while Dawson Newman was named to the All-Rookie team.
The recognition is significant for the program, marking the first time since 2003 that multiple Rams pitchers have been selected as first-team All-Conference. This achievement highlights the strength of VCU’s pitching staff during this season.
Patrick Steitz finished his season with a WHIP of 1.02, ranking him nineteenth nationally and leading all pitchers in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He pitched a total of 85 innings with an ERA of 2.96, both tops in the conference. During the season, Steitz was named a National Pitcher of the Year Award Semifinalist and received Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week honors twice. The right-handed pitcher contributed to a combined shutout and allowed one or fewer runs in eight out of fourteen starts.
Zachary Peters began his fourth year with an A-10 Pitcher of the Week award and maintained strong performance throughout. By season’s end, he had one of the lowest ERAs nationally among pitchers with at least forty innings pitched and ranked among conference leaders in saves (six), wins (five), and strikeouts (seventy-eight). Peters made twenty-one appearances for VCU this season—fifteen without allowing any runs—and played key roles in combined one-hitters and high-strikeout games.
Dawson Newman contributed as both a reliever and starter on VCU’s pitching staff during his rookie campaign. He did not allow an earned run in thirteen out of nineteen appearances, finishing with thirty-nine strikeouts—the most among underclassmen on his team—a regular-season ERA of 2.50, four wins against one loss, two saves, and held opposing hitters to a .214 batting average.
VCU will begin its Atlantic 10 Championship schedule as overall No.3 seed at Capital One Park against No.6 Davidson on Wednesday, May 20 at three p.m.
