from www.goarmysports.com
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Two of the players most responsible for leading Army’s record-setting season have been recognized on the national level as standout designated hitter Joey Henshaw and stalwart shortstop Clint Moore were named to the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association NCAA Division I All-America Team, it was announced on Monday.
While Henshaw was named to the ABCA second team, Moore was selected to the third unit. Both players were also chosen to the ABCA 2009 Northeast Region First Team all-star squad.
After missing much of last season due to a shoulder injury, Joey Henshaw took the Patriot League by storm this spring. The tallest player in the league at 6-7 (250 pounds), Henshaw posted eye-popping numbers his first time through the circuit. Army’s power-hitting cleanup hitter batted .383 with 12 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 47 runs scored, 75 runs batted in and 135 total bases.
In posting the most prolific offensive season in Army history, Henshaw established new single season school records in home runs, runs batted in and total bases, establishing all three marks during the Black Knights’ appearance at the Austin Regional. He finished the year with a .646 slugging percentage and topped the team with 80 base hits, just one shy of Army’s single-season standard. The native of Gainesville, Ga. (North Tall H.S.), registered 24 multiple-hit showings (one short of the school record) and 18 multiple-RBI affairs (two shy of the school standard) this spring, while batting safely in 45 of 54 contests. He hit .393 with runners in scoring position.
A first team All-Patriot League performer, Henshaw led the Patriot League in base hits. home runs, runs batted in and total bases. He finished second in slugging percentage, fourth in runs scored and eighth in on-base percentage (.438). Henshaw hit safely in all 20 conference contests, posting a .425 batting average with seven doubles, six home runs and 31 runs batted in during conference play. He registered a .738 slugging percentage in those 20 Patriot League affairs, piling up 59 total bases.
Moore, who was named to the First Team All-Patriot League squad while finishing second in the conference’s player of the year voting, was also chosen one of 15 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, presented to the nation’s top shortstop by the College Baseball Foundation.
The third Black Knight to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors last season en route to a Freshman All-America citing, Moore didn’t miss a beat this spring. The Greensboro, N.C. (Grimsley H.S.), native batted .395 with 18 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 58 runs scored and 65 runs batted in. He posted a slugging percentage of .724 and an on-base mark of .494, while piling up 134 total bases, just one behind the single season school record set by Henshaw this season. A slick-fielding defensive standout, Moore registered a remarkable fielding percentage of .971 and helped Army set a new team record for double-plays (66), participating in 38 twin-killings from his shortstop position. He established new single season school records for both multi-hit (25) and multi-RBI (20) games this spring, batted safely in 43 of 53 outings and hit .378 with runners in scoring position.
Moore led the Patriot League in doubles, triples, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, while finishing second in batting average, runs scored (one short of the league lead), runs batted in, total bases (one shy of league lead) and walks. He hit .433 with seven doubles, three triples, three home runs, 23 runs scored and 28 RBI in 20 Patriot League tilts, recording a .761 slugging percentage in those outings. Moore authored an amazing nine game late-season stretch, batting .581 with three doubles, three triples, six home runs, 21 runs scored and 26 RBI. He fashioned a 1.452 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base mark during that span. Though just a sophomore, Moore already owns Army’s career record for multiple-RBI affairs (32) and has garnered 47 career multiple-hit contests.
Until this year, Mike Scioletti ranked as the only Army player to record 60 runs batted in during a single season. Henshaw and Moore both reached the plateau this spring. Additionally, Schuyler Williamson stood as the only player in Army history to accumulate 120 total bases prior to this year. He was joined on the list by both Henshaw and Moore this season. Scioletti and Williamson had shared Army’s single season home runs record (12) that was also surpassed by Henshaw this spring.
Henshaw and Moore follow in the footsteps of recent Army standouts Nick Hill, Kyle Scogin and Nate Stone as other Black Knights to earn spots on the ABCA All-America Team this decade. Stone became only the third Army player to be chosen to one of the ABCA’s national All-America squads and the first since Barry DeBolt was cited in 1966 when he was named to the ABCA third team in 2004. One year later, Hill and Scogin were selected to the second and third team, respectively. Ed Haydash was the only other Army player to earn national recognition by the ABCA, chosen to the postseason All-America unit in 1963.
Though falling three wins shy of the single season school record for victories, Army closed its most successful campaign by reaching the final of an NCAA Regional for the first time earlier this month. Closing the spring at 36-21 overall, Army captured its third Patriot League title in six years, earned the program’s fourth NCAA Regional berth and posted two victories at the Austin Regional before dropping a 14-10 verdict to eventual champion Texas in the first “championship†game of the regional. Both Moore and Henshaw were named to the All-Austin Regional Team.
Only five members of the Northeast Regional Team were selected to the ABCA’s national All-America Team. Joining Henshaw and Moore on the list were Mike Belfiore (second team utility player) and Tony Sanchez (third team catcher) of Boston College and Kevin Nieto (third team outfielder) of Manhattan. Belfiore and Sanchez were both selected on the first night of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last week. While Sanchez was the fourth overall selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Belfiore was chosen in Comp Round A by the Arizona Diamondbacks.