Amlung, Wright Earn First Team All-BIG EAST Honors
May 24, 2011 | Baseball
May 24, 2011
CLEARWATER, Fla. - University of Louisville sophomore right-hander Justin Amlung and junior Ryan Wright earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors, while junior outfielder Stewart Ijames and junior righty Tony Zych also gained All-BIG EAST recognition as announced by the league office on Tuesday night.
Amlung (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier HS) finished the regular season with a 9-2 record overall to go with a 2.19 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 98.1 innings pitched and 14 starts this season. Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead HS) led the Cardinals in hitting at .343 and stolen bases with 16 in 18 attempts, was tied for the team lead with 11 home runs and was second in RBI with 45.
Ijames (Owensboro, Ky./Owensboro Catholic HS) was named Second Team All-BIG EAST after leading the Cardinals with 45 RBI and closing the regular season with the team lead in home runs with 11. Zych (Monee, Ill./St. Rita HS) earned Third Team All-BIG EAST honors after finishing with 12 saves, which was tied for the league lead, to go with a 2.84 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 25.1 innings of relief.
Connecticut, the top seed in this week's BIG EAST Championship, won three of four major awards as outfielder George Springer was selected as BIG EAST Player of the Year, righty Matt Barnes was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and head coach Jim Penders was chosen as BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Notre Dame first baseman Trey Mancini was selected as BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.
Up next, No. 6 seed Louisville (29-27) will open the BIG EAST Championship against No. 3 seed Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 10 a.m., ET at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. The Cardinals and Panthers did not play during the 2011 regular season and have never met in the BIG EAST Championship. Louisville has won two of the last three BIG EAST Championship titles and is 15-6 all-time in the tournament.
All of the Cardinals' 2011 post-season games will be aired live on KOOL 1570 AM in Louisville and Southern Indiana, while streaming audio will be available through CardsTV at www.UofLSports.com. Links to live scoring and live video for the 2011 BIG EAST Championship can be accessed online at www.bigeastbaseball.com.
