Six Cavaliers Named to All-ACC Baseball Team

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May 18, 2015

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Six members of the Virginia baseball teams were named to the 2015 All-ACC Team, which was announced Monday by the conference office after voting by the league’s 14 head coaches. Starting pitcher Nathan Kirby (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) was named to the first team, while shortstop Daniel Pinero (So., Toronto, Ontario), third baseman Kenny Towns (Sr., Burke, Va.) and relief pitcher Josh Sborz each were tabbed on the second team.

Adam Haseley (Fr., Windermere, Fla.) and Pavin Smith (Fr., Jupiter, Fla.) were named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.

Kirby has missed his last three starts with an injury but is 5-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 10 starts this season. In 59 1/3 innings, he has allowed 50 hits and struck out 75 batters, which was first in the ACC at the time of his injury. He was a unanimous 2015 Preseason All-America pick and was on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award. Kirby was named to the All-ACC first team for the second straight year.

Pinero is batting .305 in 51 games at shortstop this season. He owns 60 hits, including seven doubles and five home runs. Named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, Pinero leads the team in runs scored with 46. Pinero was a third-team All-ACC selection in 2014.

Sborz has had a solid year, going 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA while primarily serving as the team’s closer. He is tied for the ACC lead with 12 saves this season and is on the watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award. He also shown his versatility and has made two starts for the Cavaliers in recent weeks.

Towns is in the midst of his best season as a Cavalier. He is batting .312 with 16 doubles, four homers and 50 RBI while playing in each of the Cavaliers’ 52 games. Towns ranks eighth in the ACC in doubles and 10th in RBI.

Haseley has been a two-way force for the Cavaliers. He has started all 52 games for UVa, batting .256 with eight doubles and 18 RBI. While he primarily has played the outfield this year, Haseley also has appeared in nine games on the mound – all since April 1. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 19 innings.

Primarily batting in the 3- or 5-hole for the Cavaliers this season, Smith is batting .302 with 14 doubles, five homers and 35 RBI. He is tied for the team lead with 64 hits and owns the most hits for a UVa rookie since Steven Proscia in 2009.

Virginia opens postseason play at 11 a.m. Tuesday when it takes on Georgia Tech in a play-in game at the ACC Baseball Championship.