Wednesday, May 28, 2008

GONZALEZ, ROSA NAMED TO DAKTRONICS ALL-AMERICA TEAM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. --- Tusculum College’s Maikol Gonzalez and Christian Rosa have been named to the 2008 Daktronics Division II Baseball All-America Team announced officials Wednesday. Gonzalez earned First Team All-America honors, while Rosa was selected to the Second Team.

Gonzalez, a senior second baseman from Maraca Ibo, Venezuela, earns Daktronics All-America First Team accolades for a second straight year. Earlier this week, the two-time All-American was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America squad.

Rosa earns his first All-America honor of 2008 and joins Gonzalez and former three-time All-American Chad Busch to earn national accolades in multiple seasons. Rosa was named to the 2007 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America team, earning honorable mention recognition.

Gonzalez established a new school record by hitting .468 this year, surpassing the previous best by Julio Velazquez in the 1994 campaign (.467). Gonzalez also broke the TC and South Atlantic Conference single-season record with his 103 hits this year. For his efforts, he was named the Daktronics South Region Player of the Year for a second straight season. The two-time All-SAC First Team honoree accounted for 21 doubles, seven triples, five home runs and a team-best 58 RBI. His 30 stolen bases in 2008 were also a new school record.

During his two-year career, Gonzalez established new TC record for batting average (.457), triples (21) and on-base percentage (.522). His batting average is currently ninth all-time in NCAA II history, while his triples tally is tied for 12^th in the record book. Earlier this month, he was named to the All-South Region teams by Daktronics, ABCA and NCBWA.

Rosa, a senior utility player from Toa Boa, Puerto Rico, split time at catcher and in the outfield. He finished third on the team hitting .390 with 15 doubles, seven triples and a team-best 12 home runs, including a solo shot in his final collegiate at-bat. Rosa’s dozen homers are tied for the fourth most in school history. His 21 career round-trippers are tied for fifth all-time in the TC record book. He was named to the All-Region First Team by Daktronics and the ABCA.

The Pioneers posted a 41-15 record in 2008 and are currently ranked 30^th in the nation. Tusculum advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year and the fourth time in the last six seasons. The Pioneers earned their way into the national postseason by winning the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

In all, 67 student-athletes, representing 46 institutions were named to the team selected by members of the D-II College Sports Information Directors of America.

- TC -