Five Red Raiders Earn All-PSAC West Honors; Wright Named Pitcher of the Year
May 9, 2007
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Shippensburg sophomore
Matt Wright (McClure/Mid-West) was named Pennsylvania
State Athletic Conference Western Division Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday,
highlighting the All-PSAC Western Division honors that included five Red
Raiders. The list comes out four days after the Red Raiders won their first
PSAC
Championship
since
2003.
Wright, who was named All-PSAC West Rookie of the Year in 2006, joins 2006
award winning Nathan Starner as the second Red Raider pitcher in as many
years to win the pitcher of the year award. Wright was also named All-PSAC
West First Team for the second time in his career, becomes the first Ship
player on record to be a first team honoree in each of his first two seasons.
In 2007, Wright posted a 5-3 record with one save in 13 appearances and 10
starts. He turned in a team-best five complete-games, ranked second in the
PSAC West with a 2.35 ERA, and he held opponents to a .206 batting average.
Wright also registered a league-leading 80 strikeouts and finishing with
25 more than the second-best total. His 62.0 innings also ranked third
in
the PSAC.
Also earning his second-straight All-PSAC Western Division First Team selection
was junior centerfielder Justin Garber (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown), who
led the Red Raiders in five offensive categories. He finished the regular
season with a .386 batting average, ranking ninth in the PSAC. On the season,
he totaled a team-best 37 RBIs, 39 runs, four triples and went 24-for-26
on stolen base attempts. He was also named PSAC West Player of the Week twice
during the month of April.
Landing second team honors were senior second baseman Eric Perlozzo
(Cumberland, Md./Bishop Walsh), sophomore rightfielder Tyler
Redick (Fairfield/Walkersville (Md.) and senior starting pitcher Ross
Buckwalter (Ephrata/Ephrata).
Perlozzo, a second team selection in 2005, missed all but five games in 2006
but returned to Ship as a graduate student and turned in an excellent senior
campaign. He finished the season hitting .276 with seven doubles, 11 steals
and 28 runs scored. Defensively, he committed just two errors in 175 chances
for a field percentage of .989.
Redick lands a spot on the second team for the second time in his two-year
career. He was the only Red Raider to start all 49 of the team’s games
and led the team with 62 hits while ranking second on the team with a .346
batting average. He also led the team with eight doubles and scored 38 runs,
drove in 24 and hit three homers.
Buckwalter, meanwhile, makes his first appearance on the PSAC postseason
team after turning in a career year. He was the PSAC West Pitcher of the
Week on April 24, along with his impressive 2.91 ERA, he led the PSAC in
innings pitched with 77.1. He posted a 5-2 record, turned in four complete
games and struck out 57 batters while walking just 12.
Along with the PSAC Championship, the Red Raiders earned an automatic berth
into the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional that is set to begin on
May 17. It will be Ship’s first appearance in the tournament since
2004. The NCAA will announce the tournament’s location and Shippensburg’s
opponent and game time on Sunday, May 13.
- Red Raider Baseball -
