Two Buffalo Baseball Players
Earn Freshman All-American Honors
Six Mid-American Conference freshman baseball players, including three
first-team all-MAC selections, and two future league players have been
named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team, chosen by
Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Central Michigan's Mike Galloway was the
lone representative on the All-American team, while five other current
MAC players garnered honorable mention accolades.
Galloway, a first-team all-MAC choice, finished eighth in the league in
batting with a .376 average, a mark that led all freshman players in the
conference. Galloway also had 12 doubles, 11 home runs and 47 RBIs.
Miami's Chris Leonard led the RedHawks to the MAC tournament
championship by posting a 7-1 record with a team-leading 2.79 ERA, which
ranked second in the conference. A first-team all-MAC selection, Leonard
picked up Miami's only win at the NCAA Regional Tournament by defeating
Creighton, 6-3, working seven and one-third innings with two strikeouts
and surrendering only three runs.
Ball State's Bryan Bullington tied for first in the MAC in victories (9)
plus led the league in strikeouts (99). The all-MAC first-team and
league Freshman of the Year selection was sixth in earned-run average
(3.83) and fourth in innings pitched (84.2). Bullington, 9-4 overall
and 5-2 in MAC games, struck out 99 batters while walking only 26 and
held opponents to a .212 batting average.
Kent State had two players named to the honorable mention team, pitcher
Dirk Hayhurst and catcher Pat O'Brien. A second-team all-league choice,
Hayhurst was 5-1 with a 3.75 ERA for the Golden Flashes, who captured
the MAC regular season title. In addition, Hayhurst tied for the league
lead with two shutouts and fanned 47 batters in 57.2 innings. O'Brien,
meanwhile, batted .276 with six home runs, 11 doubles and 28 RBIs.
The sixth first-year MAC player to capture honors is Northern Illinois
infielder Bilal Omar. Omar, who helped the Huskies to a 24-33 record
after a 4-51 mark the previous season, hit .297 with 21 runs scored and
14 runs batted in.
In addition to the six MAC players, two Buffalo players also garnered
honorable mention honors. The Bulls, who competed for the first time in
13 years, had a 12-35 mark in 2000. For information on the Buffalo
honors, click on above link.