Baseball: Cajuns dominate honors

From Daily Advertiser staff reports

BATON ROUGE – UL, the highest ranked team in the state, which advanced to

within one game of an NCAA Super Regional, and LSU combined to sweep the special awards on the 2007 All-Louisiana College Baseball Team as chosen by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

The team was chosen based on nominations from the regular season by the baseball SIDs of the state and then voted on by a panel of LSWA members.

Catcher Jonathan Lucroy of UL was selected hitter of the year, while Jared Bradford of LSU and Danny Farquhar of UL tied for top pitcher in the state. Ironically, Bradford again tied for another honor – Newcomer of the Year with Cajun outfielder Nolan Gisclair. LSU outfielder Blake Dean was

named the state’s top freshman and UL coach Tony Robichaux won the award in a close vote over Tom Walter of UNO, the coach of the other team in the state to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Lucroy had a strong season as the catcher for the Cajuns, hitting .362 over 61 games with 94 hits that included 19 doubles and 18 home runs. The junior from Umatilla, Fla., had 67 RBIs and scored 56 runs, earning first-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. He ranked nationally in homers and slugging percentage and led his team in seven different statistical categories.

Bradford’s co-honors came after developed into the dominant pitcher for the Tigers with a 10-4 record and a 4.41 ERA. He had 81 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 96 innings pitched. He was the Southeastern Conference’s leader in wins and he also added five saves. He posted either a win or a save in 10 of LSU’s 12 league wins. He earned second team All-SEC and all-region honors.

Tying with Bradford for pitcher of the year was Farquhar, the UL sophomore from Pembroke Pines, Fla. Farquhar was 6-3 with a 3.08 ERA, but more importantly he struck out 115 batters (just 22 walks) in 87.2 innings, ranking him fourth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings. He also had six saves in earning All-Sun Belt Conference honors. His ERA for SBC games was 43 points lower and league opponents hit just .179 against him.

Bradford and Gisclair were both junior college transfers. Gisclair was also the SBC Newcomer of the Year, hitting .350 with 10 doubles, 13 homers and 53 RBIs. He ranked in the top five on the team in 14 statistical categories. He had nine of his 13 homers in league play, including a grand slam against Arkansas-Little Rock.

LSU’s Dean took the freshman of the year honors as the Crestview, Fla., native hit .316 with 46 RBIs. He led LSU in batting average, RBIs, hits (65), doubles (12) and home runs. Dean had a team-best 20-game hitting streak from March 17-April 20.

Robichaux earned his fourth coach of the year honor at UL. Also namedthe Sun Belt coach of the year, Robichaux led the Cajuns to a 45-16 overall record and a 23-7 SBC mark. The Cajuns were the winningest team in the state in 2007.

A look at the All-Louisiana College Baseball selections

Pos Name School Yr. Hometown Notes

P Jared Bradford LSU Jr. Hueytown, Ala. 10-4, 4.41 ERA

P Danny Farquhar UL So. Pembroke Pines, Fla. 6-3, 3.08 ERA

P David Mixon La-Monroe Sr. Americus, Ga. 5-1, 3.28 ERA, .209 opp. BA

P Matt Clayman LSU-Shreveport Sr. Austin, Texas 10-1, 3.09 ERA, 91 K

C Jonathan Lucroy UL Jr. Umatilla, Fla. .362 BA, 19 2B, 18 HR, 67 RBI

1B Albie Goulder Louisiana Tech Jr. Cave Creek, Ark. .323 BA, 14 HR, 51 RBI

2B Johnny Giavotella UNO So. Harahan, La. .373 BA, 15 HR, 60 RB

SS Brandon Richey Northwestern St. Jr. Sour Lake, Texas .365 BA, 7 HR, 32 RBI

3B T. J. Baxter UNO Jr. Point Pleasant, N.J. .372 BA, 11 HR, 60 RBI

OF Nolan Gisclair UL Jr. Marrero, La. .350 BA, 13 HR, 53 RBI

OF Charlie Kingrey McNeese State Sr. Lake Charles, La. .360 BA, 15 HR, 47 RBI

OF Brian Rike Louisiana Tech .Jr. Richmond, Texas 346 BA, 20 HR, 66 RBI

DH Scott Hawkins UL So. Collierville, Tenn. .351 BA, 16 HR, 49 RBI

Util Brandon Hudson Louisiana Tech Sr. Benton, La. .343 BA, 5-3 W-L, 4.40 ERA

Pos Name School Yr. Hometown Notes

P Josh Black Southeastern Jr. Fountain City, Ind. 8-3, 3.97 ERA

P Adam Campbell UNO Sr. Arroyo Grande, Calif. 4-1, 1.73 ERA, 7 SV

P Shooter Hunt Tulane So. Wyckoff, N.J. 6-6, 2.62 ERA

P Buddy Glass UL Jr. Clermont, Fla. 7-4, 3.28

C Sean Ochinko LSU Fr. Parkland, Fla. .277, 7 HR 32 RBI

1B Bo Bowman La-Monroe Sr Gering, Neb. .335 BA, 9 HR, 46 RBI

2B Kyle Suire La-Monroe Jr. Gonzales, La. .338 BA, 10 HR, 4 RBI

SS Dennis Winn Louisiana Tech Sr. Bowling Green, Ky. .351 BA, 8 HR, 26 RBI

3B Bryan Cartie McNeese State Jr. Meadows, Texas .354 BA, 3 HR, 41 RBI

OF Drew Anderson UNO Sr. Phoenix, Ariz. .278 BA, 15 HR, 49 RBI

OF Blake Dean LSU Fr. Crestview, Fla. .316, 7 HR, 46 RBI

OF Jefferies Tatford UL Sr. Lafayette, La. .358 BA, 10 HR, 46 RBI

DH Chase Burch Southeastern Jr. Fultondale, Ala. .361 BA, 5 HR, 53 RBI

UTL Cameron Penny Centenary Jr. Valley Center, Calif. .312 BA, 34 RBI

P – Brandon Fulenchek, Centenary; Hunter Moody, UL; Sean Morgan, Tulane. 1B – Calvin Anderson, Southern.

Hitter of the Year: Jonathan Lucroy, UL. Voting: Lucroy 8, Brian Rike 4, Johnny Giavotella 2.

Pitcher of the Year (tie): Jared Bradford, LSU; Danny Farquhar, UL. Voting: Bradford 6, Farquhar 6, Matt Clayman 2.

Freshman of the Year: Blake Dean, LSU. Voting: Dean 12, Nick Schwaner 2.

Newcomer of the Year (tie): Jared Bradford, LSU; Nolan Gisclair, UL. Voting: Bradford 5, Gisclair 5, Dennis Winn 2, Kyle Suire 1, Josh Black 1.

Coach of the Year: Tony Robichaux, UL. Voting: Robichaux 7, Tom Walter 6, Wade Simoneaux 1.