Four SoCon players named Louisville Slugger All-Americans
TUCSON, Ariz. – The Citadel’s Joe Jackson, Elon’s Ryan Kinsella, UNCG’s Christian Wolfe and Western Carolina’s Tyler White earned third-team Louisville Slugger All-America honors, as announced by Collegiate Baseball.
The Citadel’s Jackson is the first Bulldog to earn All-America honors since pitcher Asher Wojciechowski in 2010 and first position player since catcher Richard Jones was selected in 2009. Last week, the junior catcher was chosen first-team All-Southern Conference and the MVP of the SoCon tournament.
Jackson finished the season ranked in the top 10 in the SoCon and top 40 in the nation in 10 statistical categories, including second in the league and 25th nationally with a final batting average of .386, a mark that rose 23 points when he went 10-for-13 in The Citadel's run to the championship game of the conference tournament.
He had three doubles, a triple, a game-winning home run, eight runs scored and five RBIs as the Bulldogs won their first three tournament games before dropping a narrow 6-5 decision to Elon in the championship game. Jackson reached base in all but two plate appearances.
The Mauldin, S.C., catcher led the SoCon and was 11th nationally in on-base percentage (.495) and was second in the conference and eighth in the country in both runs scored (66) and RBIs (67).
Jackson's other top statistical marks included 88 hits (third in SoCon, 17th in nation); 19 doubles (3, 39); 43 walks (3, 28); 150 total bases (4, 9); a .658 slugging percentage (4, 16); and 13 home runs (6, 24).
Jackson was particularly hot over the final 14 games of the season, in which he went 28-for-48 (.583) with 26 runs scored and 26 RBIs, raising his batting average from .333 to its final mark.
Elon’s Kinsella enters NCAA Regional play with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs, both numbers that rank second nationally. The 2013 Southern Conference Player of the Year also ranks among the national leaders in runs scored (47th with 55), runs per game (81st with 0.93), hits (81st with 79), doubles (39th with 19), slugging percentage (eighth with a .683) and total bases (fifth with 164).
During his junior campaign, the Warren, N.J., first baseman has hit .329 and also has three triples. Kinsella has been successful in seven of his eight stolen base attempts. Heading in to NCAA Regional action, Kinsella carries a 37-game streak of reaching base safely. He has had 19 multi-RBI performances and 23 multi-hit games in 2013. Of his 75 RBIs, 20 have come with two outs.
Kinsella was a first-team All-SoCon pick as well as a SoCon All-Tournament team selection this year.
Elon's last All-America pick was Sebastian Gomez, who was a freshman All-American in 2011.
UNCG senior outfielder Wolfe became the 13th All-America honoree in program history. Wolfe is the first Spartan since Ryan Gordon in 2003 to earn All-America accolades.
It was a record-breaking senior campaign for Wolfe in 2013 as he hit .421 – currently the nation’s second-best batting average and the best single-season mark in program history – to go along with 88 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 39 RBIs, 121 total bases, 47 runs scored and a slugging percentage of .579.
Wolfe is the first UNCG player since Jermaine Mitchell in 2006 to lead the Southern Conference in batting average and helped the Blue and Gold pace the circuit in team average for the first time in program history. The first-team All-SoCon selection batted a sizzling .441 in conference play with 49 hits and 17 RBIs in 111 at bats. He also scored 28 runs and roped eight doubles.
Beginning with a base knock March 26 against North Carolina A&T, Wolfe hit safely in 21 straight games to tie the school record also held by Jeremy Purcell. During the stretch, he turned in 11 multiple-hit efforts, and he led the team during the campaign with 30 such performances.
White is the third Catamount to grace the publication’s postseason squad under head coach Bobby Moranda. Last season, Jacob Hoyle was a freshman All-America selection, with Ross Heffley earning the same honor in 2009 before capturing first team All-America honors in 2011. White is just the 12th different Catamount to garner All-America honors.
Selected first-team All-Southern Conference at third base, White finished his final season for the Purple & Gold with a career-high .363 batting average in helping guide the Catamounts to the program’s first regular-season SoCon championship since 2007. He amassed the second-most hits on the team – and in the SoCon – with a career-high 91, including a WCU single-season record 27 doubles to erase Rod Goldston’s 10-year old record of 26 set in 2003. He hit a team-best 16 home runs, including two grand slams – blasting his first career four-RBI homer in a 7-3 road win at UNCG.
In mid-March, White captured the first weekly award of his career when he was named SoCon Player of the Week following his 11-for-21 (.524) offensive output in leading WCU to a 3-1 week. Among his 11 hits were two doubles and three homers for a 1.048 slugging percentage, driving in a team-high eight and scoring four runs.
This season, White enjoyed a career-long 23-game stretch of reaching base safely that included a career-best 11-game hitting streak during the month of April. During that time, the Forest City, N.C., native tallied five multiple-hit games, including twice tallying three hits in a game.
All told, White ranked inside the top 10 in the conference in 10 statistical categories, including leading the league in total bases (166) and doubles (27), while ranking second in hits (91) and home runs (16). He finished the regular season ranked tied for second in the nation in doubles while his doubles-per-game average of 0.46 ranked him fifth. White’s 91 hits ranked him tied for eighth place in the NCAA entering regional play.
White capped his playing career by garnering SoCon All-Tournament team honors at the 2013 SoCon Baseball Championship. The slugger posted a .462 batting average in the three games the Catamounts played, finishing 6-for-13 at the plate with four runs scored and eight driven in. Five of White's six hits went for extra bases, including three home runs and two doubles, matching then breaking WCU's single-season record for doubles. He belted a grand slam in the slugfest with The Citadel on the second day of the tournament, tying the game at eight in the sixth inning of the 12-11 defeat.
All told, White amassed a 1.308 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage, walking twice, en route to the post-tournament honor.
For his career, White hit .325 and averaged nearly 72 hits per season. He tallied 77 multi-hit games in his Catamount career while posting multiple RBIs 42 times. He finished ranked tied for fourth in games played (228) and tied for third in games started (220) while his 882 career at bats were the third-most in program history. White finished fourth in career base hits with 287, including the third-most doubles by an individual at 64.