Corey Shaylor, the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, was also named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American list. |
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Shaylor and Yermal Named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans
June 4, 2008
Tucson, Ariz. - Freshman second baseman Corey Shaylor and starting right-handed pitcher Joe Yermal of the Charlotte 49ers were among the first-year baseball players on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team, selected by "Collegiate Baseball News."
Shaylor was among five second basemen selected for the honor, while Yermal was one of 30 starting pitchers on the national list.
Shaylor, who played his prep baseball at nearby Independence High in Charlotte, was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and a Second-Team All-League and All-Rookie Team selection. He led the Niners in batting through the regular season and conference tournament until he was passed by Brad McElroy in the NCAA Regional in Raleigh.
Shaylor ended his rookie season with a .366 batting average in 49 games started, with eight doubles, four triples and 43 RBI. He was hit by a pitch more than any other Niner (10 times) and was third among starters with 133 assists defensively. He was the second-toughest Niner to strike out on the season, and was second on the squad in sacrifice flies, a category in which Charlotte finished second in the NCAA for the season. He was also third on the team with a .440 on-base percentage.
Yermal was thrust into the number-one starting role due to injuries this season and kept the spot due to his early-season success. The Bel Air, Maryland native and 2007 Baltimore Oriole draft pick led the Niners with eight wins in 2008 (8-2), posting the second-most wins among Atlantic 10 pitchers to earn Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors and All-Rookie Team. His 84 innings in 14 starts and two relief appearances and pair of complete games led Charlotte this year. He struck out 44 batters in 325 at-bats, and finished second among starters with a 4.39 ERA.
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Yermal was not a weekend starter the first weekend, but started 13 times in weekend starts, adding starts against South Carolina opponents USC Upstate and Furman in weekday appearances. He took the ball first for Charlotte in the NCAA Regional in Raleigh, the first freshman in Niners history to start an NCAA postseason game.
The duo gives Charlotte four Freshman All-Americans by "Collegiate Baseball," following Mike Taylor in 2000 and Aaron Bray in 2006. Six others were Honorable Mention on the list in previous year, with three names (Barry Shifflett in 1983, Deon Danner in 1989 and Taylor in 2000) making "Baseball America's" Freshmen All-America listing in team history. The "Baseball America" list comes out following the College World Series at the end of June.
