Baseball
Nick Greenwood Wins ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award
June 23, 2009
KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island left-handed pitcher Nick Greenwood (Southington, Conn.) was one of just nine NCAA Division I baseball players to be honored as a Gold Glove award winner by Rawlings and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). The annual award goes to the player who is recognized by coaches across the country as the nation's best defensive player at his respective position.
Greenwood becomes the first Rhode Island baseball player - as well as the first Atlantic 10 student-athlete - to earn the Gold Glove.
The Rhody starter and ABCA All-Northeast Region second teamer receives the accolade after finishing his junior season with a perfect fielding percentage on 37 chances (26 assists/11 putouts/one double play). It marks the second season Greenwood was flawless in the field as he also turned in a 1.000 fielding percentage in 13 appearances his freshman year.
A 14th-round pick by the San Diego Padres, Greenwood was one of four URI players - a new program high - to be selected in the 2009 MLB Draft as teammates Eric Smith (Milford, Conn.), Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) and Luke Demko (Gilford, N.H.) were taken my the Arizona Diamondbacks (60th overall, 2nd round), the Tampa Bay Rays (799th, 26th round) and the San Francisco Giants (867th, 29th round), respectively.
Greenwood paced the team with 74 strikeouts this past season, finishing his junior campaign with a 6.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in Atlantic 10 games (42 strikeouts, seven walks) and was fourth in the conference with a .239 opposing batting average and a 3.15 ERA in league games. He turned in a team-best seven wins, including a victory over No. 25 Ohio State and a complete-game shutout over St. Bonaventure.
The Rhody southpaw and All-New England first team selection also earned A-10 All-Championship honors after giving up just two runs over eight innings of work in a 9-2 win over top-seeded Dayton. Most recently, he picked up the win in the 35th Annual New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-Star Game on June 4.
Rawlings has been the longtime sponsor of the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region and All-American teams. The Rawlings Gold Glove has been the standard for outstanding defensive play in the Major Leagues for the past 52 years. This year marks the third season for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award with the ABCA.
The ABCA All-American Committees select the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners in their respective divisions. Every college and high school coach in the country has the opportunity to participate through his respective regional chair.
Nine players from each division (NCAA I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College I, II and III) are announced at the respective site of each division's national championship. The high school division awards are announced in Omaha during the Division I College World Series.
Each winner receives the Rawlings Gold Glove Award similar to the MLB award. Each recipient's school also receives the award for permanent display.
2009 ABCA/RAWLINGS NCAA DIVISION I GOLD GLOVE TEAM
1B - Darin Ruf, senior, Creighton University
2B - Vincente Cafaro, senior, Creighton University
SS - Ben Orloff, senior, University of California at Irvine
3B - Brett Henry, senior, Troy University
C - Micah Gibbs, sophomore, Lousiana State University
OF - Tyler Holt, sophomore, Florida State University
OF - Trent Mummey, sophomore, Auburn University
OF - A.J. Pollack, junior, University of Notre Dame
P - Nick Greenwood, junior, University of Rhode Island
