OVC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

JACKSON, Tenn. – Four Gamecocks earned all-conference recognition for the 2010 season on Tuesday at the pre-tournament banquet for the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship.

Senior Bert Smith and junior Todd Cunningham received first team all-conference honors, while senior Daniel Adamson was a second team All-OVC selection. Freshman pitcher Hunter Rivers was named to the league's All-Freshman squad at the banquet, which was held at the Jackson Doubletree hotel on the eve of the league's six-team championship tournament.

The Gamecocks (29-24, 15-8 OVC) earned the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the double-elimination tournament after sweeping Morehead State in the last week of the regular season. They will open play on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT against the highest seed between the winners of Wednesday's games.

Smith, a 5-foot-9 native of Helena, Ala., was the league's first-team selection at second base for the third-straight year after being a second-team honoree as a freshman. JSU's and the OVC's career hits leader, Smith didn't let up as a senior. After missing the 2009 season due to injury, he returned in 2010 to lead the team with a .362 average, score 52 runs and break his own stolen bases record with 32 in 36 attempts.

Also the league's career record holder in games played, games started and at bats, Smith (313) is the only active player in the NCAA with 300 career hits. He is also the school's career steals record holder with 103, 33 more than second-place Mark Adams. In league play, he hit .385 and was 16-for-18 in stolen base attempts while not committing an error in 59 chances. Bert's selection makes him JSU's first four-time all-conference player.

Cunningham, a 6-foot-1 outfielder from Jacksonville earned his first career first-team nod on the All-OVC squads after batting .353 with 16 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 36 RBI for the Gamecocks. A presaeason First Team All-America selection by Baseball America, Cunningham boasted a .464 on-base percentage and scored 55 times for JSU in 2010, mostly from the leadoff spot.

Cunningham was a second-team honoree as a freshman in 2008, when he also earned Freshman of the Year recognition, before being named to the all-tournament team a year ago. He was named the league's Player of the Week on March 5 and boasted a .400 average with seven home runs and a .513 on-base percentage in conference play. In those league games, he was 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts and committed just one error.

Adamson, a 5-foot-11 outfielder from Centrepoint, Ala., received second-team recognition for the second year in a row after putting together a .335 average with 13 homers and 52 RBI in his senior campaign. Adamson not only excelled at the plate but also in the field, where he didn't commit an error in 144 chances in center field to set the school record for errorless chances.

Adamson had his best weekend of the season in the final series at Morehead State, where he homered four times and drove in 13 runs in the Gamecocks' sweep of the Eagles. He belted two grand slams in Friday's doubleheader, while also recording an inside-the-park homer in the set.

Rivers, a pitcher from Trinity, Ala., became the ninth JSU player on the league's All-Freshman squad over in past five seasons after compiling a 3-3 record in 16 appearances, half of which were starts. In his first season after signing with JSU from West Morgan High School, Rivers earned OVC Pitcher of the Week on March 22 after holding Miami (Ohio) to just two hits, while striking out six in a win in Jacksonville.

All of the Gamecocks' action in the 2010 OVC Baseball Championship will be broadcast live on the JSU Sports Network, while video of every game will be streamed live at www.ovcsports.com.