Baseball Places Four on LSWA All-Louisiana Squad
Jun 13, 2011 | Baseball
June 13, 2011
NEW ORLEANS _ The postseason awards continue to roll in for the Tulane baseball team, with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association honoring four Green Wave players with all-state honors. A pair of position players earned First Team All-Louisiana honors, while two relief pitchers garnered All-Louisiana Second Team accolades as announced by the LSWA on Sunday (June 12).
At the conclusion of the voting by the sportswriters in the state of Louisiana, Jeremy Schaffer and Nick Schneeberger each earned nods to the all-state first team, while Nick Pepitone and Alex Facundus were each named to the second team all-state list. The four selections to the first and second team were tied for the second most with LSU-Shreveport and McNeese State, while LSU paced all teams with seven picks. Tulane was the only team to have two pitchers selected to the squad.
Schaffer earned the All-State First Team nod at catcher after leading the states catching corps - and the Green Wave team - with a .338 batting average and 71 hits. This marks the second postseason award for the backstop, as he was a First Team All-Conference USA pick, too. On the year, the junior ranked among the Conference USA leaders in ten offensive categories and paced the squad with 20 multi-hit and ten multi-RBI games. Schaffer led the team in RBI's (37), runs scored (45), batting average (.338), hits (71), doubles (23), home runs (six), walks (39) and total bases (116).
In his first season with the Green Wave, Schneeberger earned the First Team All-LSWA at the utility position. The junior made starts at first base, second base, third base, outfield and designated hitter to qualify him for the utility nod. His .301 batting average ranked second on the squad, along with his 35 RBI's and 52 hits. The Jackson, Miss. native held the team's longest reached base streak at 16 games, while also holding a nine game hitting streak during that span. Schneeberger drove in the game winning run three times during the season, including a walk-off, RBI double in the 13th inning versus Memphis on May 6.
Pepitone closed out his career with his second straight selection to the All-Louisiana squad and led the state with 14 saves in 2011. His saves total ranks second in single season school history and pushed his career total to 31, which also ranks second in the Tulane record books. He paced Conference USA in the saves category and ranked among the league leaders in appearances and games finished. He limited the opposition to just a .269 batting average, while allowing an earned run in just four of his 27 appearances. In seven of his 14 saves, the Green Wave held just a one-run lead, while all 14 of them came when Tulane held leads of three runs or fewer. A First Team All-Conference USA selection, Pepitone helped the Green Wave to a 30-1 overall record when leading after seven innings of play.
Facundus is receiving his third postseason honor of the season after earning Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors and Freshman All-American Honors from Collegiate Baseball. The rookie appeared in a team-best 29 games and boasted an 8-2 overall record. The rookie pitched in each one of Nick Pepitone's saves and was a big reason that Tulane held a 30-1 record when leading or tied at seven innings. He limited the opposition to a .225 batting average against and had 16 scoreless outings during the season.
2011 LSWA All-Louisiana Baseball Team
First Team
P - Tyler Watkins, SLU
P - Seth Webster, Nicholls
P - Jordan LeGros, McNeese State
P - Kurt McCune, LSU
1B - Frazier Hall, Southern
2B - Jordan Marks, Louisiana College
SS - Jace Peterson, McNeese State
3B - Mark Threlkeld, Louisiana Tech
C - Jeremy Schaffer, Tulane
OF - Mikie Mahtook, LSU
OF - Seth Granger, McNeese State
OF - Mike Petello, ULL
DH - Raph Rhymes, LSU
UTL - Nick Schneeberger, Tulane
Second Team
P - Jordan Nicholson, ULL
P - Alex Facundus, Tulane
P - Nick Pepitone, Tulane
P - Joe Scanio, Northwestern State
1B - Kevin Smith, LSU-Shreveport
2B - JaCoby Jones, LSU
SS - Justin Boudreaux, SLU
3B - R.J. Talamantes, Centenary
C - Andrew Brouillette, LSU-Shreveport
OF - Lee Orr, McNeese State
OF - Colin Bear, Northwestern State
OF - Mason Katz, LSU
DH - Kyle Pearson, LSU-Shreveport
UTL - Cody Causey, LSU-Shreveport
Hitter of the Year: Mikie Mahtook, LSU
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Watkins, SLU
Newcomer of the Year: Raph Rhymes, LSU
Freshman of the Year: JaCoby Jones, LSU
Coach of the Year: Rocke Musgraves, LSU-Shreveport
