June 2, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Following a standout season during which they each helped lead the Texas A&M baseball team to another Big 12 Championship, sophomore outfielder Tyler Naquin and junior pitcher Ross Stripling were honored Thursday by Collegiate Baseball as All-Americans.
Naquin, the Big 12 Player of the Year, represented the Aggies on the second team while Stripling earned third team accolades.
Texas A&M's right fielder, Naquin came into his own during his second year in the league to lead the Big 12 in hitting with a .379 average, including a sizzling .404 clip during conference play. The Spring, Texas, native also led the league in runs scored with 58 while pacing the Aggies with 17 doubles, six triples and 42 RBI.
Additionally, he accomplished one of baseball's rarest feats and began to turn heads early in the season as he became the first Aggie since 2007 to hit for the cycle during a win over Houston at the Houston College Classic on March 6. Naquin continued to be the talk of the Big 12 in April and May as he notched a Big 12-long 27-game hitting streak that left him one shy of the Texas A&M school record.
Stripling, a junior from Southlake, Texas, put together a 12-2 record with a 1.89 ERA to tie Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Taylor Jungmann of Texas for the most wins on the mound during the regular season. The right-hander was one of the nation's steadiest hurlers all season, ranking in the top four in the Big 12 in wins (12), strikeouts (94), innings pitched (100.2), opponent batting average (.203), complete games (3) and shutouts (1).
Among Stripling's most memorable performances of the 2011 regular season was a four-hit complete game shutout at No. 4 Texas on the final day of the regular season which clinched Texas A&M's share of the Big 12 regular season title.
Both Naquin and Stripling along with their Aggie teammates are back in action this weekend at Olsen Field as they begin their postseason run at the NCAA College Station Regional. Texas A&M, the region's top seed, will face fourth-seeded Wright State on Friday p.m. at 6:35 p.m.