Four Cavaliers Earn National, Regional Honors from ABCA
Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four members of the Virginia baseball team have been recognized on various postseason awards teams by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Starting pitcher Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.) earned ABCA First-Team All-America honors, while reliever Kevin Arico (Jr., Flemington, N.J.) nabbed Second-Team All-America laurels.
Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) was named to the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team, becoming the first Cavalier to earn the distinction. Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) earned Second-Team All-Atlantic Region honors; Arico and Hultzen also were named first-team all-region.
Arico led the nation with 18 saves this season and is a finalist for the NCBWA’s Stopper of the Year Award. In the process, he broke the UVa single-season saves record and tied the ACC single-season saves mark. A First-Team All-ACC honoree, Arico went 1-1 with a 2.88 earned run average. In 34.1 innings he allowed 32 hits and walked only eight while striking out 44.
Hultzen went 11-1 with an ACC-low 2.78 earned run average this season. In 106.2 innings, he allowed 75 hits and 24 walks while striking out 123. Opponents hit just .193 against him this year.
Hultzen became Virginia’s first ACC Pitcher of the Year and was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2010. He was consistently strong all season and pitched at least six innings in 14 of his 16 starts. He currently ranks 10th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (6.33) and 11th in strikeouts and wins.
Parker was one of just nine players nationally and one of three outfielders to earn a gold glove. He did not commit an error while playing in all 65 games. While he consistently made routine plays, he also made numerous highlight-reel catches and covered an impressive amount of ground from gap to gap. At the plate, Parker had another impressive year, batting .333 with 10 home runs, 56 RBI and a school-record eight triples.
Gosselin had a record season for the Cavaliers. He hit .382 while breaking the Cavaliers’ single-season hits record with 100 hits. He led the team in home runs (11), runs (67), doubles (22), walks (39), total bases (163) and stolen bases (18), and also did not commit an error. He currently is one of just 18 players in Division I to own 100 or more hits this season.