University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Three Gophers Attain All-America Status
5/31/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CBN: Collegiate Baseball's NCAA Div. I All-Americans (PDF) (May 31, 2018)
BA: 2018 College Baseball All-Americans (May 31, 2018)
Postseason awards continue to roll out with three players representing Gopher Baseball on All-America Teams Thursday. Shortstop Terrin Vavra received First Team All-America recognition from Baseball America, while Collegiate Baseball named Patrick Fredrickson a Second Team All-American and Max Meyer a Third Team All-American.
Vavra, who on Wednesday earned recognition as a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award honoring the nation's best shortstop, received a First Team All-Big Ten selection this year for the first time in his career. Vavra leads the Gophers with 77 hits, 10 home runs, and 55 RBIs. He ranks second on the team with his 50 runs scored and has the fewest strikeouts (17) of any player with at least 150 at-bats, totaling 200 so far this season. With a strikeout every 11.8 plate appearances, Vavra is the 40th toughest player to punch out in the nation this season. Even when he's not producing a hit, he's been effective for the Gophers with a runner in scoring position and fewer than two outs, currently among the country's best in sacrifice flies with seven.
Fredrickson received the Big Ten's Pitcher and Freshman of the Year honors in 2018. The rookie ranks no. 15 in the nation in ERA at 1.78 and has allowed just 6.28 hits per nine innings, best in the Big Ten. In fact, he has allowed the second-fewest base runners in the conference with a 0.92 WHIP, good for 19th nationally. His nine victories are among the highest totals in the country as well.
Meyer also earned First Team All-Big Ten honors this season. The rookie's 16 saves yet this season tied the Gophers program record set in 2017 by Brian Glowicki. He allowed runs in just four of his 19 appearances this season and hits in only 10 while locking down 16-of-17 save opportunities. He averages 10.37 strikeouts per nine innings and tossed each of the final innings as Minnesota secured the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships.
The last time a Gopher achieved All-America status was the 2009 season when second baseman Derek McCallum earned First Team selections from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Baseball America while shortstop A.J. Pettersen earned Freshman All-America recognition from the same entities.
Minnesota opens the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening at the Minneapolis Regional against Canisius. Tickets are officially sold out. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
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