Wunderlich Named Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Writers
June 10, 2009 | Baseball
June 10, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. - University of Louisville sophomore designated hitter Phil Wunderlich was named Second Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Wednesday afternoon.
Wunderlich becomes the sixth Louisville player to earn All-American honors this season adding to the new school record total, two more than the Cardinals had in 2007 and 2008. On May 28, Chris Dominguez was named a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, while junior lefty Justin Marks was named a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American. Last week, Derek Self, Ryan Wright and Tony Zych were each named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
A native of Chicago, Wunderlich led the Cardinals in hitting with a .367 average, was second on the team in home runs with 18 and RBI with 78, and was third on the team with 18 doubles. A Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, Wunderlich started 63 total games for the Cardinals at designated hitter and in left field and spent the entire season batting in the No. 5 spot in Louisville's batting order behind Dominguez.
The left-handed hitting Wunderlich was also hit by 18 pitches to lead the Cards in that category. On April 7, Wunderlich suffered a broken nose and a fractured orbital beneath his right eye after being hit in the face by a 3-2 pitch in the eighth inning of Louisville's 15-1 win over Indiana. Despite the injury, Wunderlich never missed a game and returned to Louisville's lineup two days later to deliver a game-winning three-run home run in a 7-3 victory over Pittsburgh.
Wunderlich will begin his summer at the USA National Team Trials on June 15-24 in Cary, N.C., where he will be joined by Zych and Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell, who will serve as an assistant coach for the USA National Team this summer.
The Cardinals closed out their 2009 season on Saturday with an NCAA Super Regional loss at No. 2 Cal State Fullerton. Louisville finished with a 47-18 record overall after sweeping the BIG EAST Conference regular season and tournament titles. U of L advanced to its second Super Regional in three years after earning a 5-3 win over Vanderbilt in the title game of the NCAA Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium, the first ever NCAA Baseball Regional in Louisville.
On Tuesday night, both Dominguez (86th overall, San Francisco Giants) and Marks (92nd overall, Oakland Athletics) were selected in the third round of the MLB Draft and both players will sign professional contracts ending their collegiate careers.
