Baseball Grabs Postseason Honors From C-USA
May 24, 2011 | Baseball
May 24, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - On Tuesday (May 24), Conference USA announced its postseason awards for the 2011 baseball season and the Tulane baseball team grabbed a pair of first team honors and an all-freshman team nod. The postseason awards are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and local media members from the nine Conference USA institutions that sponsor baseball.
Nick Pepitone and Jeremy Schaffer each earned First Team All-Conference honors after having stellar seasons on the diamond, while rookie Alex Facundus grabbed a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team after leading the conference in relief appearances. The Green Wave grabbed two spots on the first team, trailing only Rice and Southern Miss, who had three and five members, respectively.
Schaffer returns to the C-USA First Team after a year hiatus from list, as he earned the same distinction during his rookie season of 2009. This season, the junior ranked among the top-five in Conference USA in six offensive categories and was among the top ten on two more lists. His 23 doubles paced the conference and ranks among the top-ten nationally, while he sits fourth in batting average (.352), slugging percentage (.578) and on-base percentage (.456).
In 54 starts, Schaffer scored 44 runs, posted 70 hits and drove in 37 RBI's to go along with 36 walks and six home runs. He led the team in all of the aforementioned categories, while posting 20 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI contests. He recorded the eventual game winning his six times this year, including three times in C-USA play, and carried a season-best 11 game hitting streak.
On the mound, Pepitone was one of the top performers in Conference USA in 2011. The senior compiled a 3-2 record to go along with 14 saves during the season, even with missing eight games due to a muscle strain in his throwing shoulder. His 14 saves led Conference USA and ranks tenth nationally and he sat fifth on the C-USA appearance charts with 26. He fanned 25 batters and held opponents to a .252 batting average in 40.1 innings of work.
The senior pushed his career saves total to 31, moving him into second on the Conference USA and Tulane career charts, and has made 20 appearances for the fourth straight season and enters the postseason with 99 career visits to the mound. He was a second team all-conference pick in 2010 and earned all-freshman accolades in 2008.
In 29 appearances this season, Facundus posted an 8-2 overall record and limited his adversaries at the plate to just a .225 batting average. The rookie lead all C-USA relievers in appearances and was tied for second in wins during his first season Uptown and earned All-Freshman team honors from the conference office. The Baton Rouge, La. native ranked second in overall appearances and was ninth in games finished on the mound (12).
He is the 24th Tulane player to earn all-freshman team honors and just the ninth to do so as a pitcher. He fanned 23 batters and allowed just 29 hits in 39.1 innings of work and played a part in 17 of the Green Wave's 30 wins. Facundus didn't allow a run in 16 of his 29 appearances and allowed earned runs in just four of his ten C-USA appearances.
Earlier this week, redshirt freshman Bowen Woodson was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team.
Tulane will open their stay at the Conference USA Championships presented by Trustmark on Wednesday evening versus Southern Miss. The Green Wave and Golden Eagles will take to the field at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. at 7:30.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Jonathan Griffin, Sr., UCF
IF Michael Ratterree, So., Rice
IF B.A. Vollmuth, Jr., Southern Miss
IF Chad Zurcher, Jr., Memphis
OF Jamal Austin, Jr., UAB
OF Marc Bourgeois, Sr., Southern Miss
OF Tyler Koelling, Sr., Southern Miss
C Jeremy Schaeffer, Jr., Tulane
DH/UT Anthony Rendon, Jr., Rice
P Austin Kubitza, Fr., Rice
P Seth Maness, Sr., East Carolina
P Todd McInnis, Sr., Southern Miss
P Geoffrey Thomas, So., Southern Miss
RP Nick Pepitone, Sr., Tulane
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Nick Crawford, Sr., UAB
IF Adam Doleac, Sr., Southern Miss
IF T.J. Rich, Jr., Memphis
IF Kenny Socorro, Sr., Marshall
OF Drew Martinez, Jr. Memphis
OF Caleb Ramsey, Sr., Houston
OF Trent Whitehead, Sr., East Carolina
C Zach Wright, Jr., East Carolina
DH/UT D.J. Hicks, So., UCF
P Kevin Brandt, Jr., East Carolina
P Brad Mincey, Sr., East Carolina
P Dillon Napoleon, Jr., UAB
P Ryan Woolley, Sr., UAB
RP Collin Cargill, Jr., Southern Miss
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
C Jared Bales, Southern Miss
SS Jack Reinheimer, East Carolina
3B Shane Hoelscher, Rice
OF Ben Fultz, East Carolina
OF Landon Appling, Houston
DH Chase McDonald, East Carolina
P Aaron Blair, Marshall
P Austin Kubitza, Rice
P John Simms, Rice
P Alex Facundus, Tulane
P Ben Lively, UCF
