University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Gophers Named Freshmen All-Americans
6/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team (40-19) had three freshmen named to the "Louisville Sluggers" Freshmen All-American team on Wednesday, June 3, as Justin Gominsky (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) and AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) all claimed the honors.
Minnesota's three players were the most by any team in the nation. The Golden Gophers were one of 11 schools to have multiple honorees on the list. It is the first time since Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) claimed the honors in 2006 that a Golden Gopher has won Freshman All-America honors. Minnesota has had seven players named to the Freshmen All-American team since 2003.
Pettersen, who was named Second-Team All-Big Ten at shortstop, finished second in the Big Ten in runs scored (65), was first in sacrifice bunts (10) and ninth in on-base percentage (.445). He was also second on the team in batting average at .353, had 79 hits and collected 45 RBI. His .353 batting average was the highest by a Golden Gopher freshmen since 2006 when Nohelty batted .361. In conference play, Pettersen hit .367 with 33 hits, 21 RBI, led the Big Ten in runs (30) and tied for seventh in on-base percentage (.472). Pettersen also was named to the Big Ten All-Freshmen team.
O'Shea, who received Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors, batted .287 with 11 home runs, 44 RBI, 13 doubles and 31 runs. He also had the most home runs by a Golden Gopher freshman since at least 1998. O'Shea was one of four Golden Gophers to claim Big Ten All-Tournament honors. He also finished tied for ninth in the conference in home runs with 11. O'Shea also hit three home runs in postseason play, as he delivered two in the Big Ten Tournament and one against LSU in the NCAA Regionals.
Gominsky, who also received Big Ten All-Freshman honors, batted .338 with 35 runs, 11 doubles, 25 RBI, three home runs and was 11-for-11 in stolen bases on the season. He was also named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team, as he batted .357 (5-for-14) with three runs and two RBI in tournament play. Gominsky went 4-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, a double, a triple and a stolen bases in an 11-8 win over Southern on May 29. On Mar. 18, Gominsky made his first career start for Minnesota at Texas-Arlington. From that point, he made 44 consecutive starts for the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota finished the season 40-19 to claim the ninth 40-win season in school history. The Golden Gophers also advanced to an eighth Big Ten Tournament championship game in as many appearances (2001-07, 09). Minnesota went 2-2 in the NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge this past week, and lost to No. 2 LSU in the final game. It was the first time since 1999 that the Golden Gophers claimed two victories in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota was also 5-2 in elimination games between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Regionals.
Players Mentioned
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