# 2012 Carolina League season

The 2012 Carolina League was a Class A-Advanced baseball season played between April 6 and September 3. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with two teams from each division competing in the playoffs.
The Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Winston-Salem Dash in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Kinston Indians relocated to Zebulon, North Carolina and were renamed the Carolina Mudcats. The club remained affiliated with the Cleveland Indians.

## Teams

2012 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Frederick Keys | Frederick, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Harry Grove Stadium |
| North | Lynchburg Hillcats | Lynchburg, Virginia | Atlanta Braves | Calvin Falwell Field |
| North | Potomac Nationals | Woodbridge, Virginia | Washington Nationals | G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium |
| North | Wilmington Blue Rocks | Wilmington, Delaware | Kansas City Royals | Daniel S. Frawley Stadium |
| South | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Cleveland Indians | Five County Stadium |
| South | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | Texas Rangers | TicketReturn.com Field |
| South | Salem Red Sox | Salem, Virginia | Boston Red Sox | Lewis Gale Field |
| South | Winston-Salem Dash | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Chicago White Sox | BB&T Ballpark |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Winston-Salem Dash finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 2010.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Lynchburg Hillcats | 72 | 68 | .514 | – |
| Wilmington Blue Rocks | 66 | 74 | .471 | 6 |
| Potomac Nationals | 64 | 75 | .460 | 7.5 |
| Frederick Keys | 62 | 77 | .446 | 9.5 |
| South division |||||
| Winston-Salem Dash | 87 | 51 | .630 | – |
| Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 74 | 65 | .532 | 13.5 |
| Salem Red Sox | 68 | 69 | .496 | 17.5 |
| Carolina Mudcats | 63 | 77 | .450 | 25 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Dan Black, Winston-Salem Dash | .315 |
| H | Dan Black, Winston-Salem Dash | 157 |
| R | Nick Ahmed, Lynchburg Hillcats | 84 |
| 2B | Nick Ahmed, Lynchburg Hillcats Michael Almanzar, Salem Red Sox | 36 |
| 3B | Tony Wolters, Carolina Mudcats | 8 |
| HR | Aaron Baker, Frederick Keys Trayce Thompson, Winston-Salem Dash | 22 |
| RBI | Trayce Thompson, Winston-Salem Dash | 90 |
| SB | Nick Ahmed, Lynchburg Hillcats | 40 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Gus Schlosser, Lynchburg Hillcats | 13 |
| ERA | J.R. Graham, Lynchburg Hillcats | 2.63 |
| SV | Ben Rowen, Myrtle Beach Pelicans | 19 |
| SO | Aaron Northcraft, Lynchburg Hillcats | 160 |
| IP | Gus Schlosser, Lynchburg Hillcats | 165.1 |

## Playoffs

* The Lynchburg Hillcats won their seventh Carolina League championship, defeating the Winston-Salem Dash in four games.
* The semi-finals were reduced from a best-of-five series to a best-of-three series.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| N1 | Lynchburg | 2 | | | |
| N2 | Wilmington | 1 | | | |
| N2 | Wilmington | 1 | N1 | Lynchburg | 3 |
| | | | S1 | Winston-Salem | 1 |
| S1 | Winston-Salem | 2 | S1 | Winston-Salem | 1 |
| S2 | Myrtle Beach | 1 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Dan Black, Winston-Salem Dash |
| Pitcher of the Year | Gus Schlosser, Lynchburg Hillcats |
| Manager of the Year | Tommy Thompson, Winston-Salem Dash |