Four Southland Phenoms Named Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-Americans
FRISCO, Texas ? Lamar pitcher Eric Harrington, Northwestern State pitcher Chad Sheppard, Texas State outfielder Tyler Sibley and McNeese State outfielder Lee Orr have been named to the 2009 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American Team, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper announced Wednesday.
Harrington, a native of Groves, Texas, and the Southland Conference’s Freshman of the Year, was arguably the most dominant starting pitcher in the league this season. In 83.2 innings pitched, the right-handed first-team all-conference selection posted an 8-1 record with a league-best 3.01 earned run average while striking out 63 and walking 26.
Sheppard dazzled on the mound this season in a late-inning role for Northwestern State. The Enterprise, La., native tied a school record with 10 saves to go along with a 4-0 record and a 1.52 ERA. Sheppard fanned more than one batter per inning pitched in 2009, accumulating 43 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched. He also held opposing hitters to a .219 batting average, the fifth-best mark among all Southland pitchers with at least 15 appearances.
Sibley had a record-setting season for Texas State, the regular-season conference champion. The Frisco, Texas, native and second-team all-conference outfielder scored 77 runs in 2009 to eclipse the previous Southland Conference record of 74, which was set by McNeese State’s Ben Broussard in 1999. In addition, he hit for a .367 average with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, 38 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
Orr became the first McNeese State player to lead the team in home runs (15), RBI (57) and stolen bases (18) since 1999. A native of Louise, Texas, Orr also hit for a .301 average and led the team in runs (52), triples (4), extra-base hits (30) and bases on balls (37). He was a third-team all-conference outfielder and the only Cowboy to start and play in each of the team’s 51 games.
In all, 98 players were named to the 2009 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American Team. UCLA right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer was named the Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon was named the Freshman Player of the Year. The 2009 Louisville Slugger All-American Team was selected by Collegiate Baseball.