Greensboro, NC (05/22/02) -- Senior pitcher Joe Dooley (Chantilly, VA/Chantilly) and junior second baseman Brad Franklin (Greensboro, NC/Southern Guilford) earned spots on the 2002 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division III First Team All-South Region Baseball squad Wednesday. Senior Zach Whicker (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) and junior Luke Kempton (Greensboro, NC/Page) earned second-team and honorable mention recognition, respectively. Dooley and Franklin are candidates for spots on the ABCA All-America teams, which will be announced May 24.

A first-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honoree, Dooley (left) led Division III through games of May 12 with 12 wins, which tied Guilford's 26-year-old record. He posted a 12-3 mark with four saves and a 3.10 earned run average in 20 appearances. The right-hander completed a school-record 11 games, including two shutouts, and won the league's Player of the Week Award for the week ending March 24. Dooley struck out an ODAC record-tying 118 batters (the second-highest total in school history) and limited opponents to a .228 batting average over 95 2/3 innings. He led the conference in wins, strikeouts, saves, innings and shutouts. His 19 career victories stand sixth all time at Guilford, while his 10.19 strikeouts per nine innings ratio also ranks first. He also places among the Quakers' career leaders in saves (2nd, 9), appearances (5th, 56), and strikeouts (4th, 223). Dooley returned to Guilford last August after spending the 2001 season pitching for Division I George Mason.

Another 2002 first-team All-ODAC pick, Franklin made the all-region squad after a record-setting season. The Quakers' second baseman belted a league record-tying nine triples and finished second in the ODAC with a school-record 51 RBI. His nine three-base hits rank eighth among the NCAA Division III leaders and broke the former Guilford standard of seven set in 1966. A 2001 transfer from Division I Elon, he led the league with a school-record 55 runs and hit .342 with four homers and nine doubles in 43 games. The ODAC Player of the Week for the week ending April 14, Franklin also ranked among the league leaders in hits (5th) and runs batted in (3rd) per game. He led the Quakers with 14 multiple-RBI games and had two or more hits 20 times. He enjoyed a personal-best 14-game hitting streak during the year and went 4-5 with a two-run triple and a two-run homer in the Quakers' 11-10 win at Chowan Feb. 16. Franklin earned a spot on the 2002 All-ODAC Tournament team after hitting .263 with four RBI.

Whicker concluded an outstanding four years at Guilford by hitting a career- and team-best .385 with a school-record tying 16 doubles and 46 RBI. The outfielder and cleanup hitter rapped out a personal-best 62 hits and belted five home runs. He placed among the ODAC leaders in hits (4th), doubles (6th) and runs batted in (4th) per game. Whicker totaled 18 multiple-hit games and 13 contests with two or more RBI. The four-year letter winner and two-time captain leaves Guilford as the school's career leader in doubles (51) and finished second to classmate Steve Danis by one with 193 career hits. Whicker's .357 career batting average stands fourth all time at Guilford and his 132 RBI rank second. He also figures prominently on the Quakers' career runs (3rd, 118), slugging percentage (6th, .568) and homers (6th, 19) lists.

Kempton (right) completed his third season as Guilford's starting first baseman with a .361 batting average and 31 RBI. One of two players to start all 44 contests, the left-handed batter hit second in Guilford's lineup and boasted a team-best .478 on-base percentage. He led the Quakers with 32 walks and scored 53 runs, second only to Franklin and the third-highest total in school history. Kempton stood among the league leaders in hits (9th) and runs (4th) and boasted a .987 fielding percentage, the best on the team. Only a junior, he stands eighth on the Quakers' career hits list (142) and is seventh in runs (112) and 10th in doubles (26).

Coach Gene Baker's club matched the school record for wins in a season with a 30-14 overall mark. The Quakers equaled another record with a 12-4 ODAC mark and took second in the four-team league tournament, finishing one win shy of receiving the loop's automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Guilford returns 19 letter winners in 2003, including Franklin and Kempton.