Eight Mountaineers Garner All-Big 12 Honors

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 24, 2016) – The West Virginia University baseball team collected a program-record 10 All-Big 12 honors, the conference office announced on Tuesday.

Junior right-handed pitcher Chad Donato became the four Mountaineer to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades, while junior first baseman Jackson Cramer and freshman outfielder Darius Hill picked up All-Big 12 Second Team recognition. Hill and Ivan Vera were named to the Big 12’s All-Freshman team.

Five Mountaineers were tabbed All-Big 12 Honorable Mention: Kyle Davis, Jimmy Galusky, Michael Grove, Blake Smith and Vera.

WVU earned nine All-Big 12 accolades in each of its first three seasons in the league.

Donato, a junior from Cypress, Texas, completed the regular season with a 3-4 record and a 3.32 earned run average. Donato leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally with 110 strikeouts, the sixth-most in a single season in program history. The right-hander holds an impressive 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which leads the league and ranks 30th in the NCAA. Donato was named to the Honorable Mention Team a season ago.

Cramer earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. The junior inked a .303 batting average and led WVU with 41 RBIs while tying for the team lead with eight home runs.

Hill was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and to the Big 12 All-Freshman team after posting a .348 batting average in 52 games this season. The Dallas, Texas, native led the Big 12 with 19 doubles and ranked third in the league with 166 hits. He also led the Mountaineers with 71 hits and 105 total bases, while tying Davis for a team-leading 46 runs scored.

Vera also earned a spot on the all-freshman team with his team-high .407 batting average in 39 games. The Round Rock, Texas, product totaled 48 hits, 21 runs, 21 RBIs and 12 extra-base hits. Vera was also named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team.

Davis grabbed All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades after tying for a team-high 46 runs. He posted 50 hits, 29 RBS, 18 extra-base hits and drew a team-best 39 walks. Davis was named to the All-Freshman Team last year.

Galusky garnered honorable mention honors after hitting .262 with 45 hits, 27 runs and 14 runs-batted-in.

Grove, a freshman right-hander, went 2-4 in 14 appearances and produced a 2.44 earned run average. The Wheeling, West Virginia, native fanned 56 batters and walked just 19, while allowing 12 earned runs and 40 hits in 44.1 innings pitched.

Rounding out WVU’s All-Big 12 Honorable Mention players was Smith, named to the team for the second consecutive season. The right-hander went 4-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 23 appearances. Smith’s eight saves ranks third in the Big 12 Conference and is second in a single season in school history. The righty struck out 37 and walked 11 in 27.2 innings pitched.

No. 4-seed West Virginia opens the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday, May 25, against No. 5-seed Oklahoma. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. The winner of Wednesday’s contest will face the winner of No. 1-seed Texas Tech/No. 8-seed Kanas State. A complete preview can be found on WVUsports.com.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Eight Mountaineers Garner All-Big 12 Honors

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