Four members of the Suffolk Christian Academy baseball team were recently named to the All-Hampton Roads Athletic Conference first team. They were led by sophomore Shawn Moose, who was named Most Valuable Player.

“It’s cool to see hard work paid off,” Moose said. “I’ve never worked this hard leading up to a season.”

Moose improved from an already impressive freshman campaign, when he first made the all-conference first team.

“When he got up to bat, he was going to hit the ball, somewhere,” SCA head coach Orel Schleeper said, accounting for why Moose was chosen by coaches as the conference MVP. And on defense, “He’s a great middle infielder.”

In eight games played against conference opponents during the regular season, Moose led his team with a batting average of .700 in 30 at-bats, recording 21 hits, including eight doubles, two triples and a home run. He had 20 runs batted in, 25 runs scored and was 9-for-9 in stealing bases.

As a pitcher, he went 2-0 in 9.2 innings pitched, with a 3.62 earned run average and 20 strikeouts.

Senior Jared Lauver made it onto the first team for the second consecutive year. He appreciated the recognition but was not losing sight of what he cared about most.

“It was just an honor to be able to play the game of baseball and being a senior, being my last year, winning all-conference, that’s something special. But really it was just getting to play with the group of guys I played with all year,” he said.

“You couldn’t ask for a harder worker. He will truly be missed,” Schleeper said. “He was my ultimate senior leader.”

In eight conference games, Lauver batted .360 in 25 at-bats, producing nine hits — including a triple and a home run — 18 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He was 7-for-7 in stealing bases.

Of his first-time All-HRAC first team selection, senior Noah Nickert said, “It’s really cool.”

Aside from SCA coaches and teammates who see his hard work, Nickert added that the honor shows “people from other teams see it, too.”

He started five conference games, threw in 21 innings total and went 2-0. He had a 1.00 ERA, allowing only 11 runs and 12 hits, while throwing 31 strikeouts.

“Noah’s a very good pitcher,” Schleeper said. “Not overpowering by any means, but he fills the strike zone up.”

In his first year playing school-based baseball, senior Jeremy Blasiole earned first-team honors.

“It was nice to have that and know that people recognize that you’re a good player,” he said.

Highlighting Blasiole’s leadership, Schleeper also said, “He played a great outfield, he pitched really well, he played a great first base — consistent hitter.”

In seven conference games, Blasiole batted .632 in 19 at-bats, producing 12 hits — including two triples — 11 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He pitched 6.2 innings and had 12 strikeouts.