Taylor Edens enhanced his pro baseball prospects with a remarkable summer performance in the Coastal Plain League.

The former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy standout followed his junior season at the Virginia Military Institute by going 9-1 as a pitcher for the Peninsula Pilots, earning a First Team Summer Collegiate All-American honor from Perfect Game.

“They are the premier organization that lists and ranks college players and projects them going into the Major League draft,” Peninsula Pilots assistant coach David Mitchell said of Perfect Game.

Edens was excited to hear of the accolade.

“It was awesome news,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited about it. It was a great honor. I can’t thank the Pilots enough.”

“I think that was the first core reason as to why I had so much success this summer is because I have so much fun playing for that organization,” he added. “It’s the best place to play that I’ve experienced, at least in my own baseball career.”

He thanked the team’s coaches, led by Hank Morgan, for “putting me in a position to do well and get recognized.”

Eden was one of five starting pitchers selected to the first team from various leagues around the nation. In 56.2 innings pitched, he had a 9-1 record, a 2.06 earned run average, threw 36 strikeouts and allowed 51 hits and two walks.

“That was a record for wins for the Peninsula Pilots,” Mitchell said. “In a season, we’ve never had a pitcher with nine wins before.”

The competition in the Coastal Plain League is formidable, as teams are stocked with elite college players and MLB draftees.

But Edens deflected the praise of the Perfect Game honor to his eight teammates on defense.

“Most of my starts were a team effort,” he said. “I’m not the guy that’s going to strike a lot of people out, and I’m very aware of that and OK with it. I’m a person that I really rely on the seven guys behind me and the one guy I’m throwing to for however long I’m out there.”

But Edens has improved his ability to make the crucial pitch when necessary.

“I’ve grown a lot mentally over the years and executing the pitches when they matter,” he said.

He said the statistic he is consistently proud of his number of walks allowed.

Of the five first team starting pitchers selected by Perfect Game, not only does Edens have the most wins, but his two walks allowed are also the fewest of any honoree.

“In my 15 years of coaching and my seven years with the Pilots, I’ve never seen a pitcher that efficient in throwing strikes and not allowing walks,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who is the head baseball coach at NSA, first coached Edens on a showcase team during the summer following Edens’ junior high school season, then coached him in his senior year with the Saints.

“Just really proud of what he’s done and what he’s been able to accomplish,” Mitchell said. “As a coach, it’s fun to watch your former student-athletes progress and grow.”

Edens was also recently named to the 2015 All-Coastal Plain League First Team.

“It’s a great honor,” he said, having led the league in pitching wins. “It’s all about where you’re playing and the organization you’re with, and they really take care of you.”

The Pilots went 28-25 this season. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, going 1-2 in the series against the Wilmington Sharks. Edens helped bring the Pilots the lone victory.