Waxahachie, Texas- June 7, 2016- The National Christian Colleges Athletics Association (NCCAA) has announced the Baseball Central Region Team and two Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) players have made the list. Raul Castro was picked as a second team selection and Jake Payonk was chosen as a third team member.

“We are really proud of both these players and look forward to the future with both as players and leaders of our team,” exclaims SAGU Baseball Coach Sam Blackmon .

Castro is a junior infielder from Garland, Texas.  Castro led the Lions in batting average and RBI’s.  He hit for 0.393 and had 68 hits.  He averaged over one RBI per game, and hit 51 for the season.  Castro also had eight home runs for the season.

Coach Blackmon believes Castro is deserving of the honor after his banner season, “Raul was a leader of the team and had a tremendous year, hitting 393, with eight HR, 15 doubles and 51 RBI.  He set SAGU records for a single season in doubles, home runs and RBI’s.”

“Jake Payonk had an exceptional year as a freshman, hitting 392 with 13 doubles and 22 RBI’s,” says Blackmon.

Payonk served the Lions as a catcher from Caldwell, Texas.  Against Central Christian College, he had a career high of four hits, four RBI’s, two runs scored, two doubles and two triples.

The Lions ended the 2016 season 14-40 overall.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.

Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]