Baseball Announces 2008 Captains, Fall Award Winners

Nov. 30, 2007

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Shippensburg Unversity Head Baseball Coach Matt Jones has announced that senior Justin Garber (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown), junior Tim Freshour (Johnstown/Richland) and sophomore Phil Harnick (Lancaster/Hempfield) have been named captains for the 2008 season.

"I think these guys exemplify what it means to be a baseball player at Shippensburg University," said Jones. "They are all good students and very hard workers. The team voted at the end of fall ball and did a very good job."

Garber, an Amercian Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-North Atlantic Region First Team selection, finished last season with a team-best .358 batting average while leading the team with 24 stolen bases and 41 RBIs. He enters this season ranked fourth in school history with a .377 career average while also totaling 56 stolen bases which is sixth all-time.

Freshour appeared in 14 games in the outfield last season with seven starts and 30 at-bats, but his biggest contribution came as a pitcher, especially in the postseason. He made four appearances, totaling 12.1 innings and allowed just 11 hits while striking out 12. Freshour's most notable performance came in the team's 18-6 victory over California (Pa.) in the PSAC title game where he worked the final five innings in relief and struck out four.

In his first season with the Red Raiders, Harnick totaled eight appearances on the mound, two of which were starts against Kutztown on April 11 and West Chester on April 25. Against the No. 3-ranked Golden Bears, he made his first career start and held Kutztown without a hit through 6.2 innings while striking out nine.

Jones also announced the team's award winners from the fall season which included Freshour who received the Cy Young award and junior Jason Kelly (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) who was named Most Valuable Player.

"Tim Freshour was voted as the Cy Young winner for the fall," said Jones. "He came on late last season and has carried that momentum through the fall. Tim did a great job for us this fall. He has worked hard to continue to get better on the mound and still compete for a starting job in the outfield. He is a team leader on and off the field and we are very happy with his progress."

Freshour picked up the victory in game one of the Fall World Series after getting the start and striking out three over four scoreless innings as the Blue Team won 14-4. In game four, he went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs while driving in one.

"Jason Kelly was voted to be our fall MVP by his teammates," said Jones. "I couldn’t agree more. Jason did a great job at several positions for us this fall. He worked very hard to get stronger over the summer and it really paid off. Not only did it show at the plate, but on the mound as well with added velocity. Jason is very versatile and could see time at several positions for us this spring."

Kelly went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in game one of the Fall World Series before doubling home two in game three and adding an RBI-single in game four.

The Red Raiders open the season with a four-game series at Mount Olive February 16 and 17.

- Red Raider Baseball -