Baseball: Five Selected to All-BIG EAST Team
May 22, 2006 09:17 PM | General
May 22, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University baseball team landed a program-best four players on the all-BIG EAST first team and one on the second team, as announced at the BIG EAST baseball awards banquet in Clearwater, Fla., on Monday, May 22.
Senior outfielders Stan Posluszny and Casey Bowling, as well as junior third baseman Justin Jenkins and junior catcher David Carpenter were named to the first team, while centerfielder Adam White was selected to the second team.
Coming into today eight WVU players had been named to the all-BIG EAST first team all-time. The four players this season mark the most that a WVU team has ever put on the conference first team jumping ahead of the 1997, 2004 and 2005 squads that each landed a pair of players.
Posluszny has put together a remarkable career at WVU, highlighted by his senior season. The Aliquippa, Pa., native is currently batting .335 on the season with 22 doubles, 51 runs scored and has tallied team leading 58 RBI.
The right fielder currently ranks in the top 10 at WVU in 16 different batting categories and in the top five in eight. He also holds school records for career home runs by an outfielder, career RBI by an outfielder and career extra base hits by an outfielder.
Posluszny was previously named to the 2006 preseason all-BIG EAST team, 2004 and 2005 third teams and was named the 2003 rookie of the year.
Bowling led the Mountaineers in batting average for much of the second half of the season and currently holds a .400 clip to rank 25th in the NCAA as of May 15. His batting average is tied for second best in the conference heading into the tournament to go along with his 43 RBI, 43 runs scored and 13 doubles. Bowling has also recorded a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 2006.
Jenkins has put together a stellar junior campaign as he leads the Mountaineers with 89 hits, 59 runs, 24 doubles, 143 total bases and a .598 slugging percentage. The Ridgeley, W.Va., native ranks first in the BIG EAST in hits, sixth in home runs, fourth in runs scored, sixth in slugging percentage and eighth in batting average (.372).
Carpenter has been formidable at bat in 2006 as well as behind the plate with his strong arm. The Fairmont, W.Va., is batting .326 on the season with 33 RBI and seven home runs. Carpenter has thrown out 17 base runners and picked off another 12 to lead the Mountaineers in both categories.
Jenkins and Carpenter were also named to the 2006 preseason all-BIG EAST team. In 2005 Jenkins was named to the second team and Carpenter was selected to the third team.
White finished second on the team and sixth in the conference with a .381 batting average. The speedy center fielder stole 19 bases in the regular season to rank tied for seventh in school history and tied for sixth in the BIG EAST this year. The Philipsburg, Pa., native also recorded 27 RBI and three triples during his freshman campaign.
The BIG EAST also announced on Monday evening that streaming video for all of the games except for the championship game, which will air on ESPNU, will be available to fans via www.bigeastbaseball.com.
The Mountaineers begin their tournament run on Tuesday, May 23, when they face St. John’s at 5 p.m. at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater Florida.
