05/23/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WILMINGTON, N.C. (May 23, 2006) – Georgia State University freshman Clayton Shunick was named to the Colonial Athletic Association all-Rookie team in voting by the league's head coaches, as announced Tuesday evening at the pre-championship banquet on the eve of the 2006 CAA Baseball Championship on the campus of North Carolina Wilmington.
Shunick, a pitcher for the Panthers and a native of Alpharetta , Ga. and Chattahoochee High School , finished with the lowest earned-run average for any Panther starter at 4.83. The hurler has looked impressive in his first year at State making 16 appearances, and he leads the team with 13 starts and is tied for second in complete games with three. He also paces the squad with 87.2 innings pitched and ranks first in total strikeouts (68). Shunick completed the season with the second highest number of wins among the Panther pitchers, going 5-6 on the year.
Shunick was named CAA Rookie of the Week on May 15 after pitching a complete-game against Delaware to help the Panthers move ahead of the Blue Hens in the CAA standings. Against a team ranked in the top three in runs scored, doubles per game and homers per game, Shunick held Delaware to just three runs in nine innings of work.
James Madison sophomore outfielder Kellen Kulbacki, who ranks among the nation's leaders in several offensive categories, was selected as the 2006 CAA baseball Player of the Year. Other top honors went to Virginia Commonwealth sophomore shortstop Sergio Miranda as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Delaware freshman infielder/pitcher Alex Buchholz as Rookie of the Year and Old Dominion's Jerry Meyers as Coach of the Year.
Georgia State will begin play in the CAA Championship Wednesday in Wilmington , N.C. as the No. 6 seed against No. 1 seed James Madison at Noon on WRAS-FM (88.5) Radio. The Panthers of State and Northeastern University are the two newest members of the CAA and both join four other long-time members in this six-team event. Georgia State ended a 20-year string of tournament appearances by George Mason by edging them for the final spot.
James Madison (36-19) earned its first-ever CAA regular season title by winning 10 of its final 11 games of the season while State (25-29) took two of three games each from Delaware and George Mason to get into the tournament.
2006 ALL-CAA BASEBALL TEAM
(as selected by CAA Head Baseball Coaches)
FIRST TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2006 Stats
Chris Hatcher, UNC Wilmington # C Jr. Kinston , N.C./Kinston .362, 7 HR, 47 RBI
Nate Schill, James Madison 1B Sr. Audubon, N.J./Audubon .422, 13 HR, 63 RBI
Michael Cowgill, James Madison 2B Sr. Lexington , Ky./Henry Clay .295, 22 HR, 60 RBI
Sergio Miranda, VCU* SS So. Bayamon , Puerto Rico/PRBA .419, 4 HR, 37 RBI
Matt Poulk, UNC Wilmington * 3B Sr. Morehead City , N.C./West Carteret .325, 12 HR, 40 RBI
Kellen Kulbacki, James Madison OF So. Hershey , Pa. /Hershey .473, 23 HR, 73 RBI
Brandon Menchaca, Delaware OF So. Wilmington , Del. / Concord .395, 16 HR, 64 RBI, 28 SB
John Raynor, UNC Wilmington * OF Sr. Benson, N.C./South Johnston .399, 11 HR, 61 RBI, 39 SB
Tim St. Clair, VCU* DH Sr. Woodbridge , Va. / Garfield .319, 8 HR, 41 RBI
Alex Buchholz, Delaware UT Fr. Millersville , Md. /Old Mill .378, 18 HR, 64 RBI
Harold Mozingo, VCU# SP Jr. Tappahannock, Va./Essex 6-1, 2.07 ERA, 93 K's
Adam Ottavino, Northeastern SP Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y./Berkeley Carroll 4-4, 2.91 ERA, 114 K's
Dana Arrowood, Old Dominion RP Sr. Woodbridge, Va./Hylton 6-2, 7 svs., 2.33 ERA, 59 K's
SECOND TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2006 Stats
Patrick Nichols, Old Dominion C Sr. Chesapeake , Va. /Greenbrier Christian .305, 17 HR, 45 RBI
Jonathan Batts, UNC Wilmington 1B Jr. Wilmington , N.C./Topsail .338, 12 HR, 54 RBI
Scott Sizemore, VCU* 2B Jr. Chesapeake , Va./Hickory .300, 5 HR, 34 RBI
Todd Davison, Delaware SS Sr. Somers Point , N.J. / St. Augustine Prep .357, 11 HR, 42 RBI
Ricky Caputo, Hofstra # 3B Sr. Miller Place , N.Y./Miller Place .324, 12 HR, 47 RBI
Mike Zahm, Old Dominion OF Jr. Elkhorn , Neb. / Elkhorn .332, 6 HR, 42 RBI
Adam Heffron, Towson # OF Sr. Laurel , Md. /Hammond .350, 6 HR, 38 RBI
Jimmy Miles, Old Dominion OF Jr. Orlando , Fla. /Cypress Creek .349, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 39 SB
Mike Tamsin, Northeastern DH Fr. Branford , Conn. /Branford .355, 3 HR, 33 RBI
Robby Jacobsen, George Mason UT Sr. Waldorf, Md./ Westlake .326, 11 HR, 37 RBI, 20 SB
Jason Godin, Old Dominon SP Jr. Stafford, Va./North Stafford 8-2, 4.26 ERA, 141 K's
Ryan Reid, James Madison SP So. Portland , Maine /Deering 9-4, 3.71 ERA, 117 K's
Adam Paul, UNC Wilmington* RP Sr. Raleigh, N.C./Athens Drive 5-2, 9 svs., 2.38 ERA, 30 K's
2006 CAA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kellen Kulbacki, So., OF, James Madison
2006 CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sergio Miranda, So., SS, VCU
2006 CAA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Alex Buchholz, Fr., IF/P, Delaware
2006 CAA COACH OF THE YEAR: Jerry Meyers, Old Dominion
* - 1 st team All-CAA in 2005 # - 2 nd team All-CAA in 2005
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2006 Stats
Alex Buchholz , Delaware IF/P Fr. Millersville , Md. /Old Mill .378, 18 HR, 64 RBI
Jared Bolden, VCU 1B/P Fr. Lynchburg , Va. /E.C. Glass .383, 5 HR, 38 RBI
Mike Tamsin, Northeastern DH Fr. Branford , Conn. /Branford .355, 3 HR, 33 RBI
Dan Hudson, Old Dominion P Fr. Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne 7-3, 3.28 ERA, 79 K's
Mike Sheridan, William & Mary 1B Fr. Washington , D.C./Gonzaga .339, 3 HR, 33 RBI
Scott Krieger, George Mason 1B Fr. Towson , Md. /Calvert Hall .303, 8 HR, 30 RBI
Chris Jackson, VCU 3B Fr. Midlothian , Va. / Manchester .244, 4 HR, 21 RBI
Kurt Houck, James Madison P Fr. Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown 2-2, 3.40 ERA, 35 K's
Jordan Flasher, George Mason P Fr. Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park 3-1, 4 svs., 4.34 ERA
Clayton Shunick, Georgia State P Fr. Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee 5-6, 4.83 ERA, 68 K's
Spencer Wiggins, George Mason OF Fr. Fairfax , Va. /Robinson .287, 0 HR, 18 RBI, 12 SB
