FULLERTON, Calif. – The honors continue to pile up for Cal State Fullerton as Thomas Eshelman, Justin Garza and Michael Lorenzen each received national recognition on Wednesday.
Eshelman was named Collegiate Baseball's 2013 Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and was also named to the Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American Team. Last week, Eshelman was also voted the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, was named a Golden Spikes Semifinalist, and earned Louisville Slugger All-American first team accolades.
In his first season for Cal State Fullerton, Eshelman, the Titans' Friday-night starter, posts a record of 12-2 in 15 starts (16 appearances) and his miniscule 1.59 ERA leads the Big West, while ranking 14th in the country. Among, rookie weekend starters, Eshelman's ERA ranks second in the nation.
Eshelman's 12 wins also tie teammate Justin Garza for the Fullerton freshman record.
Eshelman leads the nation in walks allowed per nine innings (0.17), strikeout-to-walk-ratio (39.0) and WHIP (0.76). Eshelman has also totaled 12 quality starts in 2013.
In 107 and 2/3 innings, Eshelman has struck out 78 and walked just two.
In his first 63 and 1/3 innings as a collegiate pitcher, Eshelman did not issue a walk, a streak that fell just two innings short of Wes Roemer's program record of 65 and 1/3 innings in 2006. The main difference between the two streaks was that Eshelman plunked only two batters, while Roemer drilled 12.
Eshelman was named Big West Pitcher of the week on March 4 after the 6-foot-3 right-hander tossed the first complete game of his career, holding then 14th-ranked Oregon to two runs on four hits in the 8-2 Titan victory. Eshelman issued zero walks and struck out six in just his third career start.
On Feb. 15, 2013, Eshelman became the first freshman to start a season opener for the Titans since Feb. 5, 1987 when Mark Beck took the mound vs. Saint Mary's. Eshelman didn't disappoint the sellout crowd of 3,508 as CSF edged USC, 3-2.
Garza, was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America on Wednesday, after being named one of 10 semifinalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award on Monday.
The native of Ontario, Calif., was named the 2013 Big West Pitcher of the Year last week, as well as a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American.
He owns a 12-0 record as the Titans are a perfect 16-0 when he starts on the mound.
Garza and Eshelman's 12 wins also tie for sixth in the country.
In 108 innings pitched, Garza has tallied a 1.92 ERA while striking out a team-leading 89 batters. Garza earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors on March 11 following an impressive outing versus NCAA participant Texas A&M.
He handcuffed the Aggies to the tune of seven scoreless innings, scattered just five hits and walked one while striking out five during the 109-pitch effort that racked up his second combined shutout.
Lorenzen was named one of five finalists for the ninth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, it was announced on Wednesday.
Lorenzen was recently named a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American last week. In addition, he was announced as one of 12 players named to the latest John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list and for the second consecutive year was named to the Big West All-Confernece First Team.
Lorenzen was also named as a semifinalist for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's 2013 Dick Howser Trophy. Lorenzen is 19-for-22 in save attempts this season, but in three blown save attempts, kept the Titans within reach to record the win.
In two years on the mound, Lorenzen has totaled 35 saves, breaking the all-time Fullerton record in last weekend's 1-0 shutout win over Arizona State in game two of the Fullerton Regional.
In 22 appearances this season, Lorenzen has tossed 22 and 2/3 innings, striking out 20 and managing a 1.99 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .205 clip. At the plate, Lorenzen is batting .335 with a team-leading 53 RBIs while managing a .523 slugging percentage, with 40 runs scored, 73 hits, 12 doubles, four triples and a team-leading seven home runs.
Lorenzen has also totaled 20 multiple-hit games and 12 multiple-RBI games. His 13-game hitting streak from March 15-April 2 was the longest for any Titan this season, as Fullerton went 12-1 during that stretch while Lorenzen batted .469 with 19 RBIs, three doubles, three home runs and 13 runs scored.
Lorenzen was denied a save after surrendering two runs to UC Santa Barbara in the top of the ninth on April 12. The blown save ended his streak of 16 straight that dated back to May 1, 2012.