Baseball America All-American Teams
NCBWA All-American Teams
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton's trio of senior Michael Lorenzen and freshmen pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Justin Garza received additional All-America accolades, it was announced on Wednesday by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Writer's Association.
Lorenzen, a 38th overall selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, was selected as a first team All-American by both Baseball America and the NCBWA.
The honors add to an already long list for Lorenzen, who was named a 2013 Louisville Slugger First Team All-American, a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, a Big West Conference First Team selection and one of five finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award.
The native of Anaheim, Calif., is a three-time All-American at Cal State Fullerton, serving as the Titans' starting center fielder and closer on the mound.
On the hill, Lorenzen has totaled 35 saves in just two years on the mound, breaking the all-time Fullerton record.
Lorenzen finished the 2013 campaign 19-for-22 in save attempts, but in three blown save opportunities, kept the Titans within reach to record the win (3-0).
In 22 appearances this year, Lorenzen 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 hit .335 with a Big West-leading 54 RBIs while managing a .515 slugging percentage, with 40 runs scored, 76 hits, 12 doubles, four triples and a team-leading seven home runs.
Lorenzen totaled 21 multiple-hit games and 12 multiple-RBI games.
On April 12, 2013, Lorenzen blew his first save in the last 17 opportunities, ending a streak of 16 straight that dated back to May 1, 2012.
On Wednesday, Eshelman was named to the Baseball America All-American First Team and the NCBWA All-America Second Team. Over the last month, Eshelman has been named the 2013 NCBWA and the 2013 Collegiate Baseball Freshman Pitcher of the Year, respectively, and was also named to the Louisville Slugger and NCBWA Freshmen All-American Teams, respectively.
The Titans' Friday-night starter 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.
Eshelman was one of three freshmen named to the Baseball America All-American First Team along with LSU's Alex Bregman and Oregon State's Andrew Moore.
A native of Carlsbad, Calif., Eshelman played a major role in Cal State Fullerton's 51-10 record, 2013 Big West Conference championship and the Titans' run to the NCAA Division I Super Regionals.
Eshelman ended his rookie campaign with a 12-3 record and 1.48 ERA, which led the Big West Conference. Fullerton's ace set Titan freshman records for innings pitched (115.2) and ERA (1.48), while the 1.48 mark also ranks second in Cal State Fullerton all-time single-season history.
In addition, Eshelman struck out 83 batters and walked just three, a 27.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio that also set a new single-season record at Cal State Fullerton, previously held by Wes Roemer (20.7; 2006). That wasn't the only Cal State Fullerton record Eshelman took from Roemer, as the rookie's mark of fewest walks per nine innings (0.23) also topped Roemer's mark of 0.41 in 2006.
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 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.
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 to the Baseball America All-American second team as well as the NCBWA All-America second team.
Garza, the 2013 Big West Picher of the Year, finished the season with an undefeated record of 12-0 in 17 starts, sharing the Cal State Fullerton freshman win record with Eshelman, after the pair surpassed Tyler Pill's total of 11 wins in 2009.
In addition, Garza's 1.000 (12-0) winning percentage not only set the Fullerton freshman record, but the native of Ontario, Calif., is one of just four pitchers in Cal State Fullerton history with at least 12 win and no losses following Tim Dixon (13-0, 1995), Matt Sorenson (12-0, 1999), and Benito Flores (12-0, 1998).
Garza finished the year with a 2.02 ERA (third Big West) with 115 innings on the mound (third Big West) and 95 strikeouts (second Big West) compared to just 17 walks.
Garza was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America last week, after being named one of 10 semifinalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award on June 3. He was also named a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American.
Garza earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors on March 11 following an impressive outing versus NCAA participant Texas A&M.