By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

Diego Marquez hails from Venezuela, but at Southeastern Community College, he is a true All-American.

Last spring, the 20-year-old Marquez became the first-ever SCC student-athlete to receive Academic All-America honors of the National Junior College Athletic Association. He carried a 3.89 grade point average while starting every game and batting .295 for the Ram baseball team.

He is the only player in Region 10 (North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia) to be named to the 2006 NJCAA Academic All-America baseball team.

“He’s never missed a start or a practice in two years at Southeastern,” said Ram coach Joey Autry, who nominated the third baseman for the honor. “The only classes he’s missed were when the team was on the road playing. For someone who came to the U.S., just two and a half years ago, not knowing a word of English, he’s done exceptionally well. He’s been a pleasure to coach.”

Marquez, who has been enrolled in the college transfer program at SCC, will receive his associate degree in December. Plans now are to enroll at St. Andrews College in Laurinburg where he will play for the Knight baseball team. He plans to major in computer science.

“Baseball at Southeastern has been a great thing for me,” said Marquez, who played his senior year of high school at Topsail, earning 1A All-State honors. “Everyone here has helped me in so many ways.

“I came to the U.S. so I could go to college and still play baseball,” he said. “I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if I had remained in Venezuela.”

It was actually Marquez’s older brother David who paved the way. David also attended Topsail High as an exchange student and then went on to Mt. Olive College on a baseball/academic scholarship.

“My brother had a good experience with it and he encouraged me to try it.

“My parents, especially my mother, wanted me to continue my education, so I decided to do it,” he said.

While at SCC, Marquez has been inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the school’s honor fraternity.

He also spends five to six hours a week tutoring fellow students in Spanish and math.

“Math is my best subject,” he said. “When I first started at Southeastern, I was considering going into electrical engineering or mechanical engineering, but the more I got into computer courses here, the more I liked it.”

Marquez plans to return to Venezuela after completing his college education.

Baseball is a huge a sport in Venezuela, and the country is the most recognized in South America for its association with the sport.

“Baseball is much bigger than soccer,” he said. “There aren’t school teams, but all communities have teams and that branches out to area teams and so on,”

There are now between 60 and 70 Venezuelan-born players on major league rosters, and Marquez has played alongside and against several players who have recently signed sizeable contracts.

Since shortstop Luis Aparicio achieved All-Star status with the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox in the 1950s and 1960s, Venezuelan players have made a steady march into the majors.

“Baseball in Venezuela is very competitive,” Marquez said. “The big difference is that here, players have a lot more of the equipment available to them.

“American teams have all kinds of support and sponsorship and they play on nice fields,” he said. “Just about all schools have teams.”

Marquez, who batted fifth in the SCC order, had 41 hits, scored 29 runs, drove in 20 runs, hit nine doubles, and one home run as the 2006 Rams posted a 20-26 record in Autry’s first year as head coach.