Southlake baseball pair awarded national recognition following state championship
Southlake Carroll head baseball coach Larry Vucan and senior pitcher Griffin Herring received national recognition on Wednesday following their state championship season.
Vucan was named a national coach of the year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was one of 11 winners. The ABCA awards national coaches of the year across all levels, including college.
Vucan was coach of the year for High School Division 1.
Carroll went 34-8 this season and capped it off with an 8-5 win over San Antonio Reagan in the UIL Class 6A state championship game on June 11 in Round Rock.
It was Carroll’s third title since 2018 and fifth overall.
Vucan has been head coach since 2017.
A SWING AND A MISS FOR A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
For the 5th time in school history, the Southlake Carroll Dragons will be taking back a State TItle to North Texas.@DragonBaseball | @UILTexas pic.twitter.com/4YBSyfSzjc— BallySportsTXHS (@BallySportsTXHS) June 12, 2022
STATE CHAMPS SOUTHLAKE CARROLL DRAGONS!! #UILState pic.twitter.com/n2WzDVDrEb
— Brian Gosset (@Gosset41) June 12, 2022
Carroll also won its final 16 games, including a 6-1 victory over Fort Bend Ridge Point in the 6A state semifinals on June 10. Herring, who was a senior, picked up his 13th win of the season in the game after allowing five hits in seven innings while striking out 13.
Herring was named to the 2022 MaxPreps All-America baseball team and was a first-team pitcher.
Herring was sensational this season going 13-1 overall and 6-0 in the playoffs. On the season, the LSU signee allowed three earned runs and finished with a 0.24 ERA.
He struck out 145 batters in 87 innings and hitters only hit 0.108 against him.
During the second half of the season, Herring didn’t allow a run for 47 1/3 consecutive innings and was voted District 4-6A Pitcher of the Year.
