Trio Named Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-America
6/8/2011 11:50:48 AM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three members of the University of North Florida baseball team – Alex Bacon, Shane Kennedy and Tyler Moore – were named to the 2011 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team, selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
“This is a great honor for our freshmen to be recognized nationally like this,” head coach Smoke Laval commented. “We had a young team this season with a lot of freshmen making valuable contributions, so it is nice to have them honored for their efforts. I thought that Bacon, Kennedy and Moore did an outstanding job throughout the year and this award is proof of that.”
The trio was all named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman team, with Bacon earning A-Sun Freshman of the Year accolades. The Osprey rookies join 2007 Freshman All-American T.J. Thompson (2007-10) as the only four Freshmen All-Americans in program history at the Division I level.
Bacon batted .352 on the season, going 70-for-199 with 46 runs scored, 18 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 42 RBI. He boasted a .588 slugging percentage and a .421 on base percentage. Bacon led the team in runs scored, doubles, hit by pitch, sacrifice flies, games played and outfield assists; second on the team in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, hits, runs batted in, home runs, total bases and games started; third on the team in triples and at bats; fourth in total plate appearances; and fifth in walks. He led the team with 22 multiple hit games and 12 multiple RBI games. Bacon recorded the second longest hitting streak of the year at 11 games. He had a season high four runs scored against Belmont, four RBI against Savannah State and recorded three hits in eight different games. Bacon had a pair of doubles against Wagner and Kennesaw State with a triple against USC Upstate, and belted home runs against Georgia Southern, UNC Wilmington (2), Belmont (2), Lipscomb, Savannah State, Mercer and Bethune-Cookman.
Kennedy hit .324 on the season, going 48-for-148 with 37 runs scored, 10 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 24 RBI. Against conference opponents, he batted .364, going 32-for-88 with 25 runs, five doubles, a triple, two home runs and 17 RBI. Kennedy boasted a .473 slugging percentage with a .410 on base percentage. He led the team in triples and sacrifice bunts, ranking in the UNF top five on the season in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, doubles, total bases, hit by pitch, stolen bases, at bats, games played, games started, total chances, assists and fielding double plays. Kennedy recorded 13 multiple hit games with six multiple RBI games and had a season long seven game hitting streak. He had a season high three runs scored against New Orleans. Kennedy registered three hits six times on the season, all in conference play – USC Upstate (2), Belmont, Lipscomb, Campbell and No. 17 Stetson. He had a season high two doubles against Savannah State with triples against Wagner, FIU and Campbell. Kennedy hit his first collegiate home run against Lipscomb, which was inside the park, before hitting his second home run the following day against the Bisons.
Moore finished his rookie campaign with a 4-3 record with a 3.92 earned run average. He made 16 appearances with six starts and one complete game shutout. Moore tossed 59.2 innings allowing 50 hits, 33 runs with 26 earned runs. He walked 28 batters, while striking out 53. Opponents batted just .235 against him with just 14 extra base hits surrendered. In Atlantic Sun play, Moore went 4-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 10 appearances (five starts), tossing 46.2 innings with 41 hits, 24 runs, 19 earned runs, 20 walks and 40 strikeouts. He led the team in earned run average and opposing batting average; second in win-loss percentage and wins; third in innings pitched and batters struck out; fourth in appearances, games started and games in relief; and fifth in batters struck out looking. He started the season as a reliever, making 10 appearances out of the bullpen, combining for a shutout against Liberty. Moore made his first collegiate start against Campbell, going 7.1 innings, en route to a win. He tossed a complete game shutout against Mercer – the only complete game shutout thrown by a freshman in the A-Sun – with a season high seven strikeouts. Moore earned victories against Belmont, Lipscomb, Campbell and Mercer.
The team was headed by Collegiate Baseball's Freshman Pitcher of The Year Corey Knebel of Texas and Freshman Player of The Year Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston.
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