Hamilton, McFadden, Jones Named LSWA Hitter, Freshman, Coach Of The Year
June 19, 2006 NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University baseball standouts Mark Hamilton and Warren McFadden were named Louisiana Hitter and Freshman of the Year, respectively, and head coach Rick Jones claimed Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced Monday. Hamilton and McFadden also claimed first-team all-Louisiana honors, and were joined on the squad by sophomore right-hander Sean Morgan. Senior pitcher Billy Mohl was named to the LSWA second-team, and senior centerfielder Nathan Southard claimed honorable-mention recognition. For Hamilton and McFadden, the LSWA honors marked the second Hitter and Freshman of the Year honors received by the pair as Hamilton claimed Conference USA Player of the Year recognition and McFadden was named C-USA Freshman of the Year earlier this year. The pair also claimed All-America honors in 2006 as Hamilton claimed first-team recognition from Baseball America and second-team distinction from Collegiate Baseball. McFadden was named Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball. It also marked the second time Hamilton, McFadden and Morgan were named to the first team as the trio claimed first-team All C-USA recognition prior to the start of the C-USA Tournament on May 25. Mohl's second-team all-Louisiana honor is the first of the season for the right-handed pitcher from Sugar Land, Texas, while Southard earned honorable-mention recognition after claiming second-team All C-USA honors back in May. Jones, meanwhile, claimed his first Coach of the Year honor in 2006, which marks the fifth time he was named LSWA Coach of the Year in his 13 years at Tulane. Jones claimed the state honor after both of the Green Wave's trips to the College World Series in 2001 and 2005, as well as the 1994 and 1996 seasons. While Jones has accomplished several Tulane first during his time in the Green Wave dugout, the job he did in 2006 may be his best to date. Fielding one of the youngest team in his time at Tulane, Jones had the daunting task of having to replace six position starters and all three weekend pitchers from a year ago, on top of the challenges presented when the team had to relocate to Lubbock, Texas, and the campus of Texas Tech for the fall semester following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The 2006 club posted the programs fourth straight 40-win season, posting a 43-21 record, finishing third in the C-USA regular-season race with a 15-9 league mark, and advance to the NCAA Regionals for the ninth consecutive season. In postseason play, Jones helped guide the Green Wave to its third consecutive NCAA Regional championship game, before falling to eventual Oxford Regional Champion and host Ole Miss. Hamilton, a junior first baseman from Bellaire, Texas, earned the LSWA honors after leading the team and C-USA in home runs (20) and total bases (151) and also led all Wave players in RBI (69), slugging percentage (.643), runs scored (61) and on-base percentage (.461). He ranked third on the team in batting average (.336) and hits (79) and was second in walks (51). Hamilton put together a 14-game hitting streak from March 5-28 when he hit .390 (23-for-59) with four doubles, four homes and 21 RBI. McFadden, a redshirt-freshman right fielder from Plantation, Fla., claimed the honors following a 2006 season that saw him lead the Green Wave with a .382 batting average (91-for-238) and 24 doubles. He played in all 64 games, including 60 starts in right field and three in left. In addition to leading Tulane in batting average and doubles, he ranked second on the club in RBI (50) and on-base percentage (.457), third in runs (53), total bases (122) and slugging percentage (.513) and fourth in stolen bases (tied with six). Morgan, meanwhile, paced the Tulane pitching staff with a 3.51 ERA, 118.0 innings, 125 strikeouts and a .222 opponent batting average. The sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas, also ranked second on the team in wins (eight) while sitting second in C-USA in strikeouts looking (40), third in innings pitched and total strikeouts, tied for fourth in wins, fifth in opponent batting average and ninth in ERA. Mohl completed his senior season a perfect 9-0 while appearing in 18 games in 2006, including 16 starts. One of two regular starters in Conference USA to sport a perfect record (9-0), he led the team in wins while ranking second in ERA (4.03) and innings pitched (105.0), and third in opponent batting average (.275) and strikeouts (67). Mohl finished the year ranked third in C-USA in wins, fourth in innings pitched, tied for fourth in starts and tied for 12th in strikeouts. He finished second on the club with a 3.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has a 5.74 strikeout-per-nine average Southard, a senior from Luling, La., started all 64 games in center. He led the team in stolen bases (27) and triples (5) while ranking second in batting average (.342), home runs (7), hits (82), total bases (129), slugging percentage (.538), on-base percentage (.444) and runs scored (55), third in doubles (tied with 16) and RBI (48) and fourth in walks (35). He finished tied for second on club with 25 multi-hit games, including eight three-hit outings and four-hit outings at UAB (5/19) and vs. South Alabama (6/4). He also ranked tied for second on the club with 12 multiple-RBI outings, including three three-RBI days and a season-best four RBI vs. Bethune-Cookman (6/3).
2006 LSWA All-Louisiana College Baseball Team Second Team Honorable-Mention Hitter of the Year - Mark Hamilton, Tulane
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