Rob Lyerly is one of two 49ers on the Preseason Wallace Watch List |
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Lyerly and Shaylor Land on Preseason Wallace Watch List
Dec. 5, 2008
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Lubbock, Tex. - For the third straight season, the Charlotte 49ers landed a player on the Wallace Watch List. Junior Rob Lyerly and sophomore Corey Shaylor are two of the collegiate baseball players listed on the 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The 2009 award banquet will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 2, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University.
For the Niners in 2008, Lyerly topped the charts with 26 doubles and 76 RBI, while batting .364 and slugging .705 as a first-year transfer from Campbell. Playing first base for the first time in college, Lyerly had only one error in 162 chances. He led the Atlantic 10 in slugging, doubles, RBI and sacrifice flies (with a school-record nine). Lyerly He was one of three Niners to hit a home run in the Raleigh, N.C. Regional last season, blasting a solo shot versus South Carolina in the postseason. Lyerly also set or tied four school records, with a 6-for-6, three-homer, 19-total bases performance on April 19 at Massachusetts.
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. 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.
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Last season, Brad McElroy found himself on the preseason list, with Chris Taylor joining later in the season. Current senior Aaron Bray was named on the preseason list in 2006.
The Niners finished 43-16 in 2008, winning 40-plus games and appearing in consecutive NCAA Regionals in back-to-back seasons, a first for the program. Charlotte also set the school record with a .333 batting average. The Niners have the fourth-best winning percentage in all of Division I baseball since 2006. The 2009 season begins on the road at ACC foe Clemson, with a three-game weekend series that begins on Friday, February 20 at 4 p.m.
