FROM NCBWA RELEASE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Florida first baseman Preston Tucker and Florida State left-handed starting pitcher Sean Gilmartin have been named the 2009 Pro-Line Athletic National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Freshman Hitter and Pitcher of the Year recipients, as announced by the organization today.
Tucker won the Gators’ version of the Triple Crown with a .364 batting average, a school-record 85 RBIs and 15 home runs. The Tampa, Fla., native was selected the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, leading Florida in multiple-hit games (27), multiple-RBI games (23), slugging percentage (.628) and total bases (152). He also added 13 doubles, three triples, 88 hits and scored 48 runs.
He batted .650 (13-for-20) in Florida’s five NCAA Tourney games and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Gainesville Regional after going 9-for-13 (.692) with six RBIs, four runs and two homers.
Tucker helped lead UF to a 42-22 overall record, the NCAA Gainesville Regional Championship and its first Super Regional in four years.
Gilmartin, ranked No. 4 in the nation in wins, is 12-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 98.0 inning pitched his season. The Moorpark, Calif., native struck out 83 batters, walked 37, posted two complete games and one save and opponents hit just .221 against him. He was named first team All-ACC and earned third team All-America honors and freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
Gilmartin leads the ACC in wins with 12 and ranks in the top 10 in ERA (6th), innings pitched (t-2nd), opponents batting average (3rd) and complete games (t-1st). He was just the second freshman in school history to earn first team All-ACC honors. He was named to the NCAA Tallahassee All-Region Team.
He helped lead the Seminoles to a final record of 45-18, the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Championship and advance to the Super Regionals.
Pro-Line Athletic is in its fifth year as a sponsor of the NCBWA. It produces and distributes plaques for National Hitter and Pitchers of the Week during the regular season and extends its award production to include plaques for each member of the Pro-Line/NCBWA All-American team.
During the summer of 2006, Pro-Line launched into the custom game clothing business with all products being manufactured in its facility in Fort Worth, Texas. As a part of this transition, the company re-branded from Pro-Line Cap Company to become Pro-Line Athletic – a full line athletic apparel company offering American Made headwear, workout gear and uniforms.
