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Mike Martin & Andre Dawson Highlight 2019 Night of Champions Event

Watch live on YurView LA or streaming on yurview.com. Replay on Cox Sports TV.

By
YurView Staff
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Eight of the all-time greats in the history of college baseball will be enshrined at the Night of Champions in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Nov. 2.

The Night of Champions, established in 2006, will also showcase 2019 championship teams from each collegiate level, and bestow awards for best coach, shortstop, pitcher and two-way player.

Florida State’s Mike Martin, Cal State Fullerton’s Mark Kotsay, Texas’ Dave Chalk, Florida A&M’s Andre Dawson, Southern California’s Wally Hood, Seminole State’s Lloyd Simmons, Ferrum’s Billy Wagner and NCAA administrator Dennis Poppe will be inducted into the 2019 National College Baseball Hall of Fame at the Raising Cane’s River Center.

“What a fantastic class,” National College Baseball Hall of Fame president/CEO Mike Gustafson said to NCAA.com. “These guys hit all the marks as Hall of Famers and are all very deserving.”

“Cox is very excited to be a part of the Night of Champions for the National College Baseball Hall of Fame as it represents a unique opportunity for us to celebrate the best in class in college baseball,” said Anthony Pope, senior vice president and region manager of Cox Southeast Region. “It is even more exciting to be able to air the celebration live on Cox’s YurView Louisiana and broadcast it across the country in replays on Cox Sports Television.”

You can watch the Night of Champions LIVE – Saturday, November 2nd at 7:00pm CT on YurView Louisiana (Cox Ch. 4) or live stream at yurview.com.  A replay of the event will air on Cox Sports TV – Sunday, Nov. 3rd at 11:00am CT (Cox Ch. 1037 in Louisiana. Other regions check local listings).

Martin (2,029) is the winningest coach in college baseball history. Martin’s teams won at least 40 games and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in all 40 of his seasons as a coach. Martin’s teams made 17 trips to the College World Series.

Kotsay is the Baseball America’s Player of the Decade for the 1990s and a member of the College World Series Legends Team. Kotsay is a two-time All-American and captured three national player of the year awards in 1995. Kotsay is one of just three players in Division I history to earn a national player of the year award, Most Outstanding Player at the College World Series and play on the national champion in the same season.

Chalk is a two-time All-American who batted a blistering .362 for his career. Chalk was a four-time All-Southwest Conference selection from 1969-72 and guided the Longhorns to four conference titles, three College World Series appearances. Chalk was on the All-CWS team in 1972.

Dawson, an outfielder, earned All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors twice while leading Florida A&M in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs in 1974 and 1975. Dawson guided Florida A&M to a sterling 64-19 record during his three collegiate seasons.

Hood amassed an incredible 21-2 mark on the mound in 1948 to earn first-team All-American honors. Hood led Southern California to its first of a record 12 national titles. Hood posted a 29-4 record for his collegiate career.

Simmons (1,804) is the winningest coach in junior college baseball history, took 13 squads to the NJCAA College World Series and 43 of his former players made to the MLB.

Wagner, a 1993 first-team All-American, holds the Division III records for strikeouts (16) and hits allowed (2.22) per nine innings. Wagner tallied a 17-3 record with a 1.63 ERA for his collegiate career.

Poppe, who was Director of Championships, is the first inductee chosen from the contributors portion of the ballot. Poppe spent 39 years of service for the NCAA and facilitated exponential growth for the College World Series in his role as overseer (1987 to 2013).

“Our voting committee continues to do an outstanding job,” Gustafson said to NCAA.com. “They represent so much history as college baseball media members, active and former coaches, retired umpires, past inductees, college baseball historians and former players. Their experiences and knowledge are reflected in this class.”

Watch the Night of Champions LIVE – Saturday, November 2nd at 7:00pm CT on YurView Louisiana (Cox Ch. 4) or live stream at yurview.com. 

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