Stewart, Nunez Named to All-PCAC First Team; Johnson, Jones, Laine, Perebzak With Honorable Mention
Six Knights have been selected to the All-PCAC team, including sophomore catcher Conner Stewart and sophomore shortstop Julian Nunez who made the first team for the second consecutive year. Sophomores Quinn Johnson and Gabe Jones earned honorable mention, as did freshmen pitchers Avery Laine and Bobby Perebzak.
Six Knights have been selected to the All-PCAC team, including sophomore catcher Conner Stewart and sophomore shortstop Julian Nunez who made the first team for the second consecutive year. Sophomores Quinn Johnson and Gabe Jones earned honorable mention, as did freshmen pitchers Avery Laine and Bobby Perebzak.
Stewart, who started all 39 games at catcher, finished second on the Knights with 47 hits while batting .338. He hit eight doubles, five home runs, drove in the third-most runs (30) on the team, and scored 35 runs. On defense, Stewart threw out a PCAC-best 17 runners. In two seasons with City, Stewart recorded 107 hits, 15 doubles, six homers, 20 walks, 59 RBI, and had a .375 batting average. He also stole 16 bases. He threw out 26 total runners and tallied 80 assists.
Julian Nunez played 38 games at shortstop in 2023 and finished fourth in the conference in assists with 96. He also turned 20 double plays, which tied him for second-most in the PCAC. On offense, Nunez led the Knights in batting average (.369), hits (52), doubles (17), and walks (25). He had the second-most RBI (31) and home runs (6), and scored the third-most runs (33). In two seasons, Nunez totaled 97 hits, 30 doubes, eight homers, 54 RBI, 52 walks, while batting .340, and tacked on 71 runs, 14 stolen bases. He recorded 200 assists and turned 40 double plays.
Quinn Johnson, City's third baseman, led the PCAC with 12 home runs and had the fourth-most RBI (42) and triples (3). He tied for the most runs scored (36) on the Knights and had the fourth-best batting average (.310), and fourth-most hits (44). He hit the second-most doubles (10) and tied for second-most steals (8). He had 55 assists on the year with three double plays.
Jones, who played 37 games as City's left fielder, finished with the second-best batting average (.341) on the team in 2023. He finished with the third-most stolen bases (12) in the PCAC was third on the Knights in hits with 45 total hits, which included eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 23 walks, and 20 RBI. He had a perfect fielding percentage with four assists. Including his freshman season with the Knights, Jones totaled 67 hits, 14 doubles, four triples, three homers, 33 walks, 36 RBI, and 16 steals.
Perebzak ended the 2023 season with the fourth-best ERA (2.62) in the PCAC and tied for the sixth-most strikeouts (90) in the state. He pitched the fourth-most innings (89.1) in the state and threw three complete games, which was the most in the PCAC. One of those complete games was also a shutout with only three hits in a 15-0 win over Imperial Valley on April 20. Perebzak made 15 total appearances, including 12 starts, and finished with a 5-5 record. He had two wins in which he struck out 10 batters, and had nine outings in which he struck out at least six.
Laine, who missed several weeks due to an injury, made 10 total appearences for City with eight starts, a 5-3 record, and a 3.90 ERA. He pitched 55.1 innings and finished with the fifth-most strikeouts (61) in the PCAC. He threw a complete game in an 8-6 win over Grossmont on March 7 with a season-high 12 strikouts. He had five outings in which he struck out at least six batters.