Doolittle Named Semifinalist for Roger Clemens Award

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May 19, 2006

HOUSTON, TEXAS. – – Virginia sophomore left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle joins nine other college hurlers who remain in contention to be honored as the top pitcher in college baseball with The Roger Clemens Award. The 3rd Roger Clemens Award will be presented at the Marriott Westchase Hotel in Houston on July 12.

Joining Doolittle as 2006 semifinalists are Dallas Buck of Oregon State, Tyler Chambliss of Florida State, Eddie Degerman of Rice, Tim Lincecum of Washington, Brad Lincoln of Houston, Andrew Miller of North Carolina, Brandon Morrow of California, David Price of Vanderbilt and Wes Roemer of Cal-State Fullerton. The Class of 2006 includes one senior, six juniors and two sophomores, while seven of the 10 are righthanders.

Doolittle picked up his 10th win Thursday night in a 4-2 win over Virginia Tech. He is currently 10-1 with a 1.90 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. He is holding opponents to a .187 batting average. He is tied for second in the ACC for wins and ranks second in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (10.67) and opponent batting avg. (.187). He became only the third Cavalier to win at least 10 games in a season.

The 10 semifinalists were selected during the first round of voting, which ended on May 15. Voters include all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, the 16 winners of the R. E. “Bob” Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country here in Houston from 1988-2003, and the six previous finalists for the Clemens Award. The second round of voting will begin next Monday, with the announcement of the three finalists set for June 1. Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004) and Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005) were the first two winners of the Clemens Award.

Buck is 9-2 with a 3.15 ERA for the Beavers this season and ranks in the top seven in most OSU career lists. Chambliss is 10-4 with a 2.76 ERA for the Seminoles and leads the ACC in wins after switching from the closer’s role in 2005. Degerman (9-1, 1.36) is among the NCAA leaders in ERA for the top-ranked Owls. Doolittle (10-1, 1.90) handed fellow finalist Andrew Miller his first loss last Friday as Virginia downed North Carolina, 4-1. Lincecum (11-3, 2.06) leads the nation with 176 strikeouts, averaging nearly 15 per nine innings. Lincoln (11-1, 1.67) is coming off a five-hit shutout at Rice on Friday. Miller (10-1, 1.78) has kept the Tar Heels near the top of the polls all season. Morrow (7-3, 1.74) leads the Pac-10 in ERA. Price (7-4. 3.90) is third in the country in strikeouts. Roemer (9-1, 1.99) leads the Big West with 98 strikeouts while walking just four this year.

The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a professional, Clemens has won 341 games (9th best in history), fanned 4,502 hitters and won and seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.

The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, who has donated over $200,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first two dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.

For additional information on tables and tickets, please call the Greater Houston Baseball Association at (713) 739-0505 or write to The Roger Clemens Award, 2550 S. Sam Houston Parkway West, Houston, TX 77047.

-UVA-