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Youchak Named ABCA/Rawlings National Player of the year
May 28, 2010
APPLETON, WI - The top-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team added some more honors to its already impressive resume this season on Thursday night as the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) announced its annual awards. Graduate student Brian Youchak (Pittsburgh, PA/Vincentian Academy) became the first player in program history to be named the ABCA/Rawlings National Player of the Year. He was previously named the ABCA Mid-Atlantic Region Player of the Year and a First Team All-American by d3baseball.com. Hopkins placed three players on the All-America team as senior outfielder Dave Kahn (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks) and sophomore pitcher Sam Eagleson (Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) joined Youchak on the first team. The three ABCA All-Americans are a program record, as are the three first team selections, as the Blue Jays have never had more than two ABCA All-Americans in the same season. Hopkins has now produced 20 All-Americans, including 11 first team selections, since 1977. Hopkins opens play at the NCAA Division III College World Series on Friday afternoon against sixth-ranked Heidelberg (5:30 pm EST). The Blue Jays sport a 43-5 record entering the series after claiming Centennial Conference and NCAA Mid.-Atlantic Regional Titles. Hopkins will be looking for the program's first national championship after near-misses in 1989 (3rd place) and 2008 (2nd place). Youchak, a 2008 ABCA First Team All-American, is the first two-time First Team All-American in program history and is just the second to earn All-America honors twice. One of the best pure hitters in the nation, Youchak is hitting .505 with 94 hits, 74 runs scored, 61 RBIs, 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 12 stolen bases. His 74 runs scored are a school record, as are his 33 multi-hit games this season. He is also tied for the school single-season record for hits, leads the team in on-base percentage (.557) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.833). Youchak's 94 hits and 74 runs scored both lead the nation, while his .505 batting average ranks third. He has also earned First Team All-Centennial and First Team All-Mid.-Atlantic Region honors.
Kahn earns ABCA All-America honors for the first time in his career and will carry a .473 batting average into the World Series and counts 79 hits, 72 runs scored and 70 RBIs to his credit. He also leads the team in home runs (16), doubles (16), triples (5), slugging percentage (.916) and stolen bases (18). He is the first player in school history with 70 hits, 70 runs scored and 70 RBIs in one season and currently ranks among the top 20 in the nation in 10 different offensive categories. Of note he ranks second in RBIs, third in runs scored, fourth in slugging percentage and total bases (153) and fifth in home runs. Kahn was named the d3baseball.com National Player of the Year after earning Centennial Conference Player of the Year honors. He has also grabbed d3baseball.com First Team All-America, ABCA First Team All-Mid.-Atlantic and NCAA Mid.-Atlantic All-Tournament Team honors. Eagleson didn't throw a pitch for the Blue Jays as a freshman, but enters the College World Series with an 11-0 record, a 2.45 ERA and 54 strikeouts against just 22 walks in 73.1 innings. He is the first Blue Jay hurler to earn ABCA First Team All-America honors since Jason Klitenic in 1989 and just the third overall. Eagleson is also just the third sophomore in school history to earn ABCA All-America honors. The opposition has hit just .207 against him this season and he has already picked up Centennial Conference and Mid.-Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year awards to go along with First Team All-Centennial and First Team All-Mid.-Atlantic Region honors. Eagleson's 11 wins this season are just one shy of Mark Campbell's school record of 12 set in 1986. |
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