May 20, 2008

FRISCO, Texas - Led by senior left-hander Tim Erickson being named Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, six Lamar student-athletes were named All-SLC in a vote by the head coaches and sports information directors and announced by the league office Tuesday.

Erickson and senior Brian Sisk were two of the three pitchers listed on the first team, outfielder Tyler Link earned third team honors, while shortstop Travis Dunson, second baseman Brian Taylor and first baseman Steven Tucker received honorable mention nods.

Lamar now has 58 first-team SLC selections - the most of any league school - and 74 all-time since 1967. This marks the seventh-consecutive year at least one Cardinal has appeared on the first team.

Erickson has made 25 appearances with an 8-2 record, while leading the SLC with a 3.01 earned run average. The part-time starter from Sour Lake, Texas, was second in the league with nine saves. His 17 career saves is a school record and his nine this season are one shy of tying the single-season mark. This marks the tenth time that a Lamar pitcher has earned the award and the first since Kyle Stutes in 2004. He has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.

Sisk joined former Cardinal Tony Mack as the only LU pitchers to earn consecutive first-team honors as he finished the regular-season with the league's best record (9-2), was third in ERA (3.46) and second in opponent's batting average (.239). The two-year letterwinner from Henderson, Texas has won 20 games at Lamar and posted a 3.62 career ERA. His .800 career winning percentage is tied for first in school history.

Link, a junior from Houston, is second on the team in nine total categories, including batting (.330), runs scored (41) and stolen bases (11). The transfer from Kansas State also leads the team with two triples and is second with 19 multi-hit games. His 10 sac bunts lead Lamar and are third in the SLC.

Dunson is hitting .316 and is tied for second on the team with 34 RBI. The senior from The Colony, Texas, is sixth in the SLC with 146 assists and has had a hand in 21 of Lamar's 38 double plays. His nine multi-RBI games lead the team and his 13 multi-hit games are fourth.

Taylor has been one of the best defensive players in the nation all season. The junior transfer from Cedar Park, Texas, by way of Oklahoma State has made just one error in 361 chances for a .996 fielding pct. He also ranks tenth in the conference in assists (136) and has been hit by a pitch ten times, which leads the Cards and ranks 13th in the league.

Tucker, a junior from Grand Prairie, Texas, transferred from Weatherford JC and has led the team in batting avg. (.357), hits (74), RBI (41), runs scored (44), sac flies (4), games played (53) and games started (51). He ranks 13th in the SLC in hitting, tenth in base hits and sixth in stolen bases (17).

Lamar enters the 2008 SLC Tournament as the No. 2 seed for the third time in the last four years and will open tourney action on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana. First pitch at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville is scheduled for Noon. The game will follow Texas State vs. Texas-Arlington at 9 a.m. Every Lamar postseason game can be heard on KLVI 560-AM while being simulcast on lamarcardinals.com.

2008 All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams First Team
1B - Paul Goldschmidt, Texas State
2B - Adam Witek, Texas State
3B - Seth Hammock, Sam Houston State
SS - Thomas Field, Texas State
C - Anthony Jones, Northwestern State
DH - Bobby Verbick, Sam Houston State
OF - Michael Rockett, UTSA
OF - Keith Stein, Sam Houston State
OF - Kevin Crabtree, Stephen F. Austin
P - Tim Erickson, Lamar
P - Brian Sisk, Lamar
P - Wade Miliey, Southeastern Louisiana

Second Team
1B Trent Lockwood UTSA
2B Josh Huffman Central Arkansas
3B Lance Loftin Texas State
SS James Keithley UTSA
C Stephen Flora A&M-Corpus Christi
DH Tim Palinscar UTSA
OF Todd Sebek Sam Houston State
OF Michael Choice UT Arlington
OF Chase Wheaton A&M-Corpus Christi
P Omar Gutierrez A&M-Corpus Christi
P Zach Tritz Texas State
P Zach Calhoon UTSA

Third Team
1B Mike Jaworski Northwestern State
2B Chase Lyles Northwestern State
3B Ryan Rummel UTSA
SS Ty Summerlin Southeastern Louisiana
C Taylor Freeman McNeese State
DH Justin O'Neal Northwestern State
DH Danny Slinkman UT Arlington
OF Chase Williams A&M-Corpus Christi
OF Tyler Link Lamar
OF Chris Houk Central Arkansas
P Jimmy Heard Northwestern State
P Mike Hart Texas State
P Bradley Chovanec UTSA

Honorable Mention: 1B-David McLeod, UTA; 1B-Steven Tucker, LU; 2B-Brian Taylor, LU; 2B-Jamie Rohlmeier, SHSU; 3B-Justin Roland, SFA; SS-Travis Dunson, LU; C-Zach Etheredge, UTSA; C-Ben Theriot, TXST; OF-Elliott Babcock, TXST; OF-Cass Hargis, SLU; OF-Laurn Randell, TXST; P-Clayton Cooper, NWLA; P-Reece Cross, UCA; P-Dallas Gallant, SHSU; P-Kris Ruepke, UTSA; P-Brent Varnado, SLU.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Michael Rockett, UTSA
HITTER OF THE YEAR: Paul Goldschmidt, Texas State
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Tim Erickson, Lamar
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Stephen Flora, A&M-Corpus Christi
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Michael Choice, UT Arlington
COACH OF THE YEAR: Sherman Corbett, UTSA