Erickson, Alonso Earn All-ACC Honors

May 21, 2007

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – – Miami freshman left-handed pitcher Eric Erickson was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team while sophomore first baseman Yonder Alonso made the All-ACC second team as announced by the league office on Monday. Erickson became the first UM freshman pitcher to earn All-ACC honors and Alonso earned All-ACC honors for the first time. The team is selected by a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.

Erickson led Miami’s pitching staff going 9-3 with a 1.85 ERA while holding opponents to a .232 batting average. He went 6-2 with a 1.92 ERA in league games and ranked second in the ACC in ERA in overall and ACC only games. The Sarasota native started 11 games and struck out 54 in 77 2/3 innings.Alonso hit .376 with an ACC-best 18 home runs and 72 RBIs. He slugged .730 and owned a .518 on-base percentage. He ranked 10th in the league in batting average, eighth in runs scored (54), third total bases (138), second in on-base percentage, second in walks (56) and second in slugging percentage.

Florida State junior Tony Thomas, Jr. was named the 2007 ACC Player of the Year. The Seminoles led all league schools with six players selected to the 16-member first team. North Carolina, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, and Virginia had three players each, while Georgia Tech had two and Clemson and Miami placed one player on the team, respectively. Thomas currently leads the league in seven statistical categories and is ranked in the top 10 in three others. The Valrico, Fla., product leads or is tied for the lead, in the ACC in hits (101), runs scored (82), doubles (30) triples (6), total bases (173), on base percentage (.537) and slugging percentage (.752). In addition, Thomas is second in batting average (.439), third in stolen bases (28) and ninth with 10 home runs.

Eric Erickson was named first team All-ACC.

North Carolina’s Dustin Ackley was the coaches’ choice as the ACC Freshman of the Year. A first-team All-ACC pick at first base, Ackley currently leads the ACC in batting average and is only the fifth Tar Heel with 100-plus hits in a single season. The Walnut Cove, N.C., freshman is batting .443 with seven home runs and 60 runs batted in and shares the NCAA lead with 101 hits on the year. In becoming only the fourth Tar Heel to garner the league’s top rookie accolade, Ackley was one of only two players this year to be named ACC Player of the Week at least twice.

Florida State’s Bryan Henry was named ACC Pitcher of the Year after finishing the regular season with a perfect 14-0 record and a 2.50 earned run average. The Tallahassee, Fla., senior recorded his 14 wins in only 16 starts this season and along with Thomas, was named as a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award. In addition to the NCAA-best 14 wins, including nine in ACC play, Henry leads the ACC in strikeouts (107), innings pitched (104.1) and is sixth in opponents’ batting average (.232).

Florida State’s Mike Martin was voted by his peers as ACC Coach of the Year for the fifth time after leading the Seminoles to the Atlantic Division title and the No. 1 seed in this week’s ACC Baseball Championship. Florida State is 46-9 overall and, with its’ 24-6 record in league play.

2007 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Teams
FIRST TEAM
Name, School, Position
Dustin Ackley, Fr., North Carolina, First Base
Andrew Carignan, Jr. North Carolina, Relief Pitcher
Sean Doolittle, Jr., Virginia, DH/Utility
Eric Erickson, Fr., Miami, Starting Pitcher
Brandon Guyer, Jr., Virginia, Outfield
Mark Hallberg, Jr., Florida State, Shortstop
Bryan Henry, Sr., Florida State, Starting Pitcher
Danny Payne, Jr., Georgia Tech, Outfield
Buster Posey, So., Florida State, Catcher
Jack Rye, Jr., Florida State, Outfield
Marquez Smith, Sr., Clemson, Third Base
Jason Stidham, Fr., Florida State, Third Base
Tony Thomas, Jr., Jr., Florida State, Second Base
Jacob Thompson, So., Virginia, Starting Pitcher
Matt Wieters, Jr., Georgia Tech, Catcher

SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Position
David Adams, So., Virginia, Second Base
Yonder Alonso, So., Miami, First Base
Tony Bajoczky, Sr., Duke, Starting Pitcher
Eric Campbell, So., Boston College, Third Base
Brad Chalk, Jr., Clemson, Outfield
Allan Dykstra, So., Wake Forest, First Base
Tim Fedroff, Fr., North Carolina, Outfield
Tim Federowicz, So., North Carolina, DH/Utility
Reid Fronk, Jr., North Carolina, Outfield
Mark Gildea, So., Florida State, Outfield
Taylor Harbin, Jr., Clemson, Shortstop
Casey Lambert, Sr., Virginia, Relief Pitcher
Caleb Mangum, Sr., NC State, Catcher
Daniel Moskos, Jr., Clemson, Starting Pitcher
Eric Surkamp, So., NC State, Starting Pitcher
Robert Woodard, Sr., North Carolina, Starting Pitcher

ACC Player of the Year — Tony Thomas, Jr., Florida State
ACC Pitcher of the Year — Bryan Henry, Florida State
ACC Freshman of the Year — Dustin Ackley, North Carolina
ACC Coach of the Year — Mike Martin, Florida State