The Coastal Plain League announced today that Forest City ace Dalton Pence (photo courtesy of Jacob Kisamore) has been named the 2022 CPL Pitcher of the Year.

“First, it’s an honor to be named the CPL Pitcher of the Year,” said Pence. “Playing for the Owls was fun and they offered a stress-free environment all summer. I got to throw against some really talented hitters every day. Overall, I really enjoyed my summer!”

Pence, a 6-2, 205-pound freshman at North Carolina, led all league starters with an impressive 0.88 ERA on the summer. He surrendered just six runs – four earned – on 25 hits, while walking nine and striking out 35. Of his eight games played, seven were starts and Pence finished with a perfect 5-0 record with one save. He also sported a 0.83 WHIP and held opposing batters to a mere .171 BAA. His K/9 was 7.683.

“Dalton was our guy all summer,” said Owls head coach Connor Dailey. “We were confident we would win every time we ran him out there. I’m happy for him to get this honor as it’s very well deserved. The consistency and poise he showed all summer as a freshman points to a big future for him at UNC.”

Overall, Pence also led CPL starters in fewest earned runs and lowest batting average against. Even more intriguing was that the Owls lefty was coming off of Tommy John surgery. His summer in Forest City was the first true game action he had seen since his surgery, and playing in the CPL is something he credits to helping him get ready to return to the Tar Heels and the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“It helped me a lot,” continued Pence. “It was good to get back out there and compete and get the adrenaline rush again. Coming off of Tommy John this was my first time in a competitive environment and the Coastal Plain League as a whole was competitive. There’s a lot of great competition in the Coastal Plain League, so I never had a day off when it came to showing up ready. I think that definitely helped me in preparing to go back to Carolina and compete this upcoming season.”

Pence was also selected as a 2022 CPL All-Star and started on the bump for the West Division All-Stars on July 10. He threw two innings of one-hit baseball across seven batters faced. The West team went on to win the game, 3-2 over the East.

All player awards are selected after gathering feedback from coaches as well as team and league officials.

About Coastal Plain League:
The Coastal Plain League, brought to you by FloSports, is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Now in its 26th season in 2022, the CPL features 14 franchises playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. To date, the CPL has had nearly 1,750 alumni drafted and 157 alums make their Major League debut – including 2017 ALCS MVP, 2017 World Series champion, 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander, as well as 2017 NLCS MVP Chris Taylor. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok @CPLBaseball.