Florida
junior left-hander/designated hitter Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) was
announced as one of the three finalists for The College Baseball Hall of Fame’s
John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award on Friday. He joins Gonzaga sophomore
Marco Gonzales and Stanford junior Stephen Piscotty in contention for the
prestigious honor. Johnson is seeking to become the first Gator to take home
the prize.
A first-team All-American by the National
Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)., Johnson was a second-team
All-American by Louisville Slugger. Chosen first-team All-SEC for the past two
seasons, he is 8-4 with a 3.56 earned run average on the mound and has 68
strikeouts in 86 innings, to go along with a .314 clip, 41 RBI, 24 runs, 13
doubles and six homers. The southpaw tossed his first career complete game to
oust fourth-ranked South Carolina from the SEC Tourney on May 25 and matched
his career high with four hits in the semifinal round the following day against
Vanderbilt. In his most recent outing on the mound, Johnson limited the
high-powered Georgia Tech offense to one run on three hits over five innings on
June 3 as the Gators cruised to a 15-3 victory over the Jackets to punch their
fourth-straight ticket to Super Regionals. Johnson batted .429 (3-for-7) in the
sweep of No. 11 NC State last weekend and tied the second encounter with the
Wolfpack with a solo homer in the eighth inning of Florida’s eventual 9-8
triumph in 10 innings. He will draw the start in Florida’s NCAA College World
Series opener versus the Gamecocks on Saturday at 9 p.m., live on ESPN.
Gonzales,
a sophomore from Ft. Collins, Colo., batted .325 with two home runs, 29 RBI and
an OPS of .802. However, it was on the mound where he shone brightest, going 8-2
with a 1.55 ERA in 12 starts. He struck out 92 batters and walked only 23 in
92.2 innings and opponents batted .201 against him.
Piscotty,
a junior from Pleasanton, Calif., ended the season batting .329, with five home
runs and a team-leading 56 RBI and an OPS of .882. His season was shortened on
the mound but he finished with a 6-2 record and a 3.05 ERA over 12 games and
four starts. He was selected 36th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the
2012 Major League Baseball Draft.
The
winner of the John Olerud Award will be named on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as
part of College Baseball’s Night of Champions. The event also features the
announcement of the winners of the National Pitcher of the Year and Brooks
Wallace Award. The Johnny Bench Award, the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award and
Dick Howser Trophy are also presented, as well as the 2012 National College
Baseball Hall of Fame inductions.
