Bees Collect Five All-America Honors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dallas College Eastfield baseball's Sebastian Palma was voted a National Junior College Athletic Association Division III First Team All-American.
A sophomore third baseman from Dallas, Palma batted a team-best .433 with a nation-leading 27 home runs and 100 runs batted in, 21 doubles, a triple, 19 stolen bases and 91 runs scored. He had a .518 on-base percentage and .897 slugging percentage with 97 hits in 61 games. Palma had four or more hits in three games, hit for a natural cycle, and drove in five runs with two walks in a 17-8 win over NJCAA Division I Navarro College, and had four or more RBI in nine games.
Palma has yet to sign with a four-year school.
Harvester Bees teammates Benjamin Sheppard and Sergio Gastelum were Second Team All-Americans, while Cooper Sexton and Luke Sasser received Third Team honors.
A sophomore left-handed pitcher from Forney, Texas, Sheppard went 9-1 with one save, a 3.63 earned run average and 33 strikeouts in 72 innings. He had a 1.43 walks plus hits per innings pitched rate, and averaged 4.13 strikeouts per game. He struck out a career-high nine batters in going the distance in a 2-1 win over No. 15-ranked Dallas College Richland.
A sophomore shortstop from Mexicali, Mexico, batted .366 with 16 home runs, 72 RBI, 20 RBI, 40 stolen bases and 67 runs in 61 games. He had a .442 on-base percentage and .670 slugging percentage with 82 hits. Gastelum's bat caught fire late as he belted seven home runs in Eastfield's seven postseason games.
Sheppard and Gastelum will continue their careers at Texas Wesleyan University.
A sophomore right-handed pitcher from Azle, Texas, Sexton went 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. He had a 1.10 WHIP in 21 appearances, with all but one coming in relief. Sexton struck out a career-high seven in three innings of a 13-3 seven-inning win over Dallas College Cedar Valley.
Sexton is committed to play at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
A sophomore center fielder from San Antonio, Sasser hit .370 with 17 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 62 RBI, 35 stolen bases and 76 runs in 59 games. He had a .474 on-base percentage and .562 slugging percentage, and collected 81 hits. Sasser had four hits in three games, two coming at the expense of Dallas College Brookhaven.
Sasser is headed to Warner University.
Eastfield, in the final year under 25-year head coach Michael Martin, advanced to the NJCAA Division III World Series, and went 46-15, while holding down the No. 1 national ranking for the last half of the season.