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University of Minnesota Athletics
Seven Golden Gophers Named All-Big Ten
5/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team (35-15) had seven players named All-Big Ten according to announcement by the Conference office on Tuesday, May 19.
The seven All-Big Ten honorees are the most since Minnesota collected eight in 2004. Minnesota also tied with Indiana for the second-highest total of honorees among Big Ten teams.
Junior second baseman Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) received First-Team honors, while redshirt freshman shortstop AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.), sophomore righthander Seth Rosin (Shoreview, Minn.) and sophomore closer Scott Matyas (North Prairie, Wis.) were named Second-Team All-Big Ten.
Senior righthander Tom Buske (Apple Valley, Minn.), senior designated hitter Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) and sophomore outfielder Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) received Third-Team honors.
First-baseman Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.), outfielder Justin Gominsky (Mahtomedi, Minn.), reliever Austin Lubinsky (LaCrosse, Wis.) and Pettersen were also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
McCallum became the first Golden Gopher to claim First-Team All-Big Ten honors at second base since Luke Appert did so in 2002 and 2003. He also joined Purdue's Brandon Haveman and Ohio State's Alex Wimmers as one of only three players to be named unanimously First-Team All-Big Ten.
Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, McCallum lead the conference in RBI by 10 over the next player at 72, was first in total bases (142) and first in slugging percentage (.721). He was also second in batting average (.401), fourth in hits (79), third in on-base percentage (.472) and third in home runs at 15.
In conference play, McCallum led the league in home runs (8), has seven RBI more then the next player with 36, was first in doubles (11), first in total bases (75), finished better then .144 then the next player in slugging percentage at .824 and was first in on-base percentage (.514). McCallum was also third in batting average in Big Ten play at .440, tied for third in runs (28) and was second with 40 hits.
He enters the Big Ten Tournament attempting to become the first Golden Gopher to bat over .400 since 2001, as one of five players in school history to collect 70 or more RBI in a season and with the most home runs by a Minnesota player since 2001.
Pettersen is the first Golden Gopher shortstop to receive Second-Team honors or higher since Matt Fornasiere was named Second-Team All-Big Ten in 2005. Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, Pettersen is tied for second in the Big Ten in runs (55), is tied for third with seven sacrifice bunts, ninth in on-base percentage at .443 and seventh in getting hit by pitches with 10. In his redshirt freshman season, Pettersen is batting .353 with 55 runs, 39 RBI and eight stolen bases.
In conference play, Pettersen was first in runs (30), tied for seventh in on-base percentage (.472) and was third in getting hit by pitches at eight. He also batted .367 in Big Ten play, knocked in 21 runs and fielded .952 at shortstop.
Matyas is the first Golden Gopher reliever since Kyle Carr to Josh Oslin to collect Second-Team All-Big Ten or higher. On the season, Matyas has collected a school-record 13 saves, had a 2.70 ERA, struck out 37 batters in 23.1 innings, has converted his last 11 save opportunities and limited opponents to a .190 batting average.
In conference play, he set a school-record with 10 saves, had a 2.13 ERA, struck out 20 batters in 12.2 innings, was 10-for-10 in save opportunities and gave up just seven hits to limit opponents to a .159 batting average. Matyas was second in the Big Ten in saves in overall games and tied for first in saves in conference play.
Rosin becomes the first Golden Gopher starter to collect Second-Team All-Big Ten honors or better since Cole DeVries did so in 2006. Rosin, who has won five straight decisions, went 5-0 Big Ten play, had a 3.60 ERA, struck out 37 batters in 35.0 innings and only walked seven batters. Overall, he is 6-1 with a 4.02 ERA, has struck out 55 batters in 62.2 innings and only walked 12 batters on the season. Rosin finished tied for third in the Big Ten in conference wins (5), fifth in Big Ten ERA and ninth in strikeouts.
Nohelty became the first Golden Gopher to collect All-Big Ten honors in all four years of his career since Sam Steidl did so in 2001-04. Nohelty was Third-Team outfielder in 2006, a First-Team outfielder in 2007-08 and was named Third-Team as a designated hitter this year. Nohelty leads the Big Ten in runs (56) and is fourth in stolen bases (20). In conference play, Nohelty was second in runs scored (29), tied for first in triples, was fifth in stolen bases and seventh in walks.
Entering the conference tournament, he is seventh in career batting average, third in hits and eighth in runs scored. He finished as the Minnesota career-record holder in hits in Big Ten play, stolen bases in Big Ten play and runs scored in conference play.
Buske and Rosin give Minnesota its first pair of All-Big Ten pitchers since 2004 when Glen Perkins and Craig Molldrem collected First-Team and Second-Team honors respectively. Buske enters the Big Ten Tournament, fifth in the conference in wins (8), fifth in ERA (3.40), seventh in strikeouts with 67 and third in opponent batting average at .221. In conference play, he finished eighth in strikeouts (40) and ninth in innings pitched (49.1).
Kvasnicka enters the Big Ten Tournament, second in the conference in doubles (17), tied for sixth in RBI (54) and is eighth in hits with 73. He also finished fourth in the Big Ten in RBI with 27 on the season. Kvasnicka is batting .351 with seven home runs, 54 RBI, 39 runs and 17 doubles.
O'Shea enters the Big Ten Tournament batting .278 with eight home runs and 34 RBI. His eight home runs are the most by a freshman since Mike Mee collected the same total in 2004. O'Shea, who is fielding at a .994 clip, batted .303 with four home runs and 17 RBI in Big Ten play.
Lubinsky enters the Big Ten Tournament at 3-0 with two saves, a 3.00 ERA, a .225 opposing batting average and 22 strikeouts in 30.0 innings. His 3.00 ERA is the second lowest on the team, and he has given up one run or less in 11 of his 12 relief outings. Lubinsky has given up one run in his last four appearances that have spanned 10.2 innings. In those outings, he has gone 2-0 with a save.
Gominsky is currently batting .339 with 30 runs, eight doubles, 22 RBI and nine stolen bases in 35 games. He is 9-for-9 this season in stolen bases attempts. In conference play, he batted .333 with 17 runs, four doubles, 11 RBI and six stolen bases.
Wimmers and Indiana's Eric Arnett were named Big Ten Co-Pitchers of the Year, Ohio State's Dan Burkhart was named Big Ten Player of the Year, Indiana's Alex Dickerson was Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Ohio State's Bob Todd was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
