POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Pearl River baseball’s Landon Gartman (Bogue Chitto; Enterprise) was named the NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year, the league announced Monday.

“This is the greatest honor that I have ever received and probably ever will receive,” Gartman said. “It is something that I never expected to happen in a million years. It means that all of my hard work and training between my first year and this year has paid off for me. It’s amazing.”

The honor adds yet another award to commemorate Gartman’s phenomenal season. The right-hander had already been named to the NJCAA All-America, All-MACCC and All-Region 23 teams in addition to being named the MACCC Pitcher of the Year and being a four-time MACCC Pitcher of the Week.

“Landon was a marked man from early on in the season, winning the pitcher of the week award four times,” coach Michael Avalon said. “You worry about how these young men are going to handle success. He handled this success and bullseye as well as any player that I’ve ever coached.”

A YEAR TO REMEMBER 

Gartman was a force on the mound as the ace of the Wildcat pitching staff, appearing in 12 games and starting in 11. The Memphis signee finished with a perfect 9-0 record and led Pearl River starting pitchers in innings pitched (60), strikeouts (81), strikeouts per nine innings (12.15) and ERA (1.95). His ERA was second in the nation and he finished with two complete games.

“I think he did so well because he has a very humble, blue-collar work ethic,” Avalon said. “Throughout the year, we continually were amazed at how each week he answered the bell against some of the toughest competition in the country. This is an incredible honor for Landon and very deserved. I’m excited for him, the Gartman family and our institution as Landon continues to represent our college the right way.”

Gartman credited his coaches and teammates for his success.

“Coach (Brandon) Pennington, coach (Slater) Lott and coach Avalon all have helped me become not just a better player but a better person and a better man,” Gartman said. “My teammates always pushed me, kept me on my toes and kept me working. The whole team helped me work to be the best player that I could be.”