Stanford’s Wilson, Kent State’s Starn Headline CB360 Primetime Performers

February 22, 2011
By

Stanford freshman rightfielder Austin Wilson (Los Angeles) and Kent State junior lefthander David Starn (Hudson, Ohio) headline the initial group of 2011 honorees in the CB360 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll, recognizing clutch efforts for the weekene of Feb. 18-20.

(Note: This page is in the process of being expanded to include headshot/action photos and bio. info. capsules for all 12 honorees – check back later for the full release).

Stanford freshman rightfielder Austin Wilson.

Wilson has been named the national Primetime Player of the Week and Starn is the Primetime Pitcher of the Week, while 10 others (listed below) join them in comprising the Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll, as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com.

CLICK HERE for the archive of previous CB360 Primetime award winners (scroll down on that page for earlier weeks).

Kent State junior lefthander David Starn.

Wilson lived up to his hype as a high school All-American and one of the nation’s top incoming players, helping lead Stanford (#13 in the CB30 Composite National Rankings) to a series win at #17 Rice – while Starn’s strong start at #23 Georgia Tech led #42 Kent State to a 6-1 win in the finale of that top-50 series.

In the first series of his college career, Wilson hit at team-best .500 clip (6-for-12) while factoring into four of the Cardinal runs (4RBI-R, solo HR, SB). The highly-regarded rookie hit out of the 9-hole throughout the showdown series, helping turn over the lineup several times to the Cardinal’s veteran players at the top of the batting order.

Stanford freshman rightfielder Austin Wilson rose to the occasion in the series win at #17 Rice, batting 6-for-12 with 4 RBI and a solo home run as the 13th-ranked Cardinal took 2-of-3. (photos courtesy of Stanford)

WILSON helped Stanford claim the opener at Rice (5-3), in a game that was scoreless through four innings. Wilson’s 6th-inning single to center field (vs. RHP Chase McDowell) moved Steven Piscotty to second base with no outs – but the Cardinal ultimately left runners on the corners. One inning later, the righthanded-hitting Wilson went with a pitch from McDowell and sent a 2-out single through the right side of the infield (he later stole second base, as the visitors scored twice for the late 3-2 lead).
In the middle game of the series (a 7-1 win by the host Owls), the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Wilson singlehandedly accounted for his team’s only run – turning on a 1-out pitch from lefthanded reliever Taylor Wall and sending a solo home run over the leftfield fence.
The series hinged on Sunday’s finale and Wilson delivered like a veteran, batting 3-for-4 with 3 RBI from the bottom of the lineup (as the Cardinal won, 6-2). With two outs in the 2nd inning, Wilson’s single to left (vs. RHP Austin Kubitza) scored Piscotty for a 1-1 game. Then, in the 4th, Wilson sent a 1-out single into centerfield – scoring Brian Ragira for a 3-1 Stanford lead.

Austin Wilson – a two-time prep All-American who hit .485 in his career at Harvard Westlake High School - was a 12th-round draft selection of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Wilson’s busy day in the final game of the series included yet another run (a 1-out single to left, again scoring Piscotty), vs. righthanded reliever Boogie Anagnostou, who was brought in to face the hot hitter.

A two-time prep All-American, Wilson hit .485 during his career at  Harvard Westlake High School. He was a 12th-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2010 Major League Draft – before opting to pursue college baseball as a member of the Cardinal.

STARN similarly delivered on the road against one of the nation’s top teams, fashioning seven strong innings as Kent State won the series finale at #23 Georgia Tech (6-1). The 6-foot-3, 190-pound lefthander faced only 25 batters (four over the minimum) while allowing the lone run, on four hits and a pair of walks. Starn collected 16 of his outs via strikeouts (6), groundouts (8) or infield popups/foulouts (2) – while his ability to hold runners and quick release helped erase two baserunners who were thrown out attempting to steal second base near the end of his outing.

Kent State junior David Starn allowed a 1st-inning run while facing only 25 batters over 7.0 innings – leading #42 Kent State to a 6-1 series-ending win at #23 Georgia Tech.

After yielding a run in the opening frame and a 1-out groundrule double in the 2nd, Starn allowed only one more runner into scoring position during the rest of the game – at one point retiring 11 straight batters spanning the 2nd-5th innings.

Starn set down the first two batters he faced before Jacob Esch doubled and scored on a Matt Skole single. Brandon Thomas later bounced his double over the fence in the 2nd, but Starn induced a foulout to the first baseman and a 5-4 groundout to avoid any more trouble.

Georgia Tech didn’t get a sniff of the basepaths in the next three innings – as Starn recorded a 4-3 groundout, flyout to right and strikeout looking in the 3rd, followed by a 1-3/KS/3U progression in the 4th and then two more strikeouts in the 5th (looking and swinging, along with another F-9 for the second out).

Kyle Wren beat out an infield single to open the bottom of the 6th (moments after the visitors had scored four times), but the runner soon was erased by Starn and the Flashes on a 2-4 caught stealing (followed by a swinging K and 6-3 groundout). Starn allowed another leadoff baseunner in the 7th – on a walk by Skole – but the next two batters were retired (KL, P-5). Thomas added a walk of his own, but a 2-5 caught stealing sent Kent State into the 8th with a 5-1 cushion.

David Starn retired 11 straight batters during the middle of his outing vs. Georgia Tech, while 18 of his 21 outs came via strikeouts (6), groundballs (8), popups (2) or caught-stealing (2).

Starn – who posted only a 5.09 ERA as a sophomore (7-3) and 4.21/2-0 during his freshman season – could be a key factor in Kent State contending for the 2001 Mid-American Conference title. An in-state product from Walsh Jesuit High School, he spent the 2010 summer season playing for the Southern Ohio Copperheads of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

Primetime Performer Award Criteria (not based solely on raw stats, but rather …)
• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings) or performed a high level in games that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification; made significant contribution to team’s postseason positioning (single-game wins, “quality” wins, series wins, road wins, etc.).
• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, key defensive efforts, etc.
• Performed at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field and vs. traditional rivals.
• Overcame adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Any accomplishment that is rare, historic, record-setting, etc., on a national level.

The other 10 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll for Feb. 18-20, 2011,include (see capsules for each player at bottom of release): Hawaii so. CF Breland Almadova (Honolulu, HI) … Maryland jr. RHP David Carroll (Las Vegas, NV) … Long Beach St. so. 3B Matt Duffy (Long Beach, CA) … Indiana jr. LHP Matt Igel (Vincennes, IN) … North Carolina jr. SS Levi Michael (Welcome, NC) … Purdue 5th-Yr.-Sr. RHP Matt Morgan (Fishers, IN) … Kansas jr. RHP Colton Murray (Overland Park, KS) … Eastern Michigan so. LF Daniel Russell (Grandville, MI) … Cal St. Bakersfield fr. 2B  Oscar Sanay (Chula Vista, CA) … and Vanderbilt so. RF Mike Yastrzemski (Andover, MA).

The week-1 honorees include five pitchers (three RHPs, two lefties) and four outfielders (2 RF, plus a CF and LF), along with a second baseman, shortop and third baseman. The 12 include two the 5th-year senior Morgan, five juniors, four sophomores and a pair of freshmen. The honorees hail from nine different home states, led by three from California and two Indiana natives, plus one each from Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.

CB360 PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL #1
(week of Feb. 18-20, 2011 … presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

Player (Pos.) … School … Yr. … Hometown … Stats & Notes
Breland Almadova (CF) … Hawaii … So. … Honolulu, HI … 6-1  •  195 … #21
David Carroll (RHP) … Maryland … Jr. … Las Vegas, NV … 6-8  •  235 … #42
Matt Duffy (3B) … Long Beach State … So. … Long Beach, CA … 6-2  •  170 … Bats: R … #10
Matt Igel (LHP) … Indiana … Jr. … Vincennes, IN 6-3  •  250 … #36
Levi Michael (SS) … North Carolina … Jr. … Welcome, NC … 5-9  •  180 … Bats: Switch … #6
Matt Morgan (RHP) … Purdue … Sr. … Fishers, IN … 5-1  •  170 … #18
Colton Murray (RHP) … Kansas … Jr. … Overland Park, KS … 6-1  •  200 … #45
Daniel Russell (LF) … Eastern Michigan … So. … Grandville, MI … 6-1  •  195  •  Bats: L … #33
Oscar Sanay (2B) … Cal State Bakersfield … Fr. … Chula Vista, CA … 5-7  •  185  •  Bats: R … #2
* David Starn (LHP) … Kent State … Jr. … Hudson, OH … 6-3  •  190 … #37
*Austin Wilson (RF) … Stanford … Fr. … Los Angeles, CA … 6-4  •  235  •  Bats: R … #30
Mike Yastrzemski (RF) … Vanderbilt … So. … Andover, MA … 6-0  •  180  •  Bats: L … #18
* – Wilson is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Starn the Primetime Pitcher of the Week … note that rankings above refer to the top-50 of the CB360 Composite National Rankings (CNR) … primary class years are based on academic standing (some players may have an extra year of eligibility).

(Note: This page is in the process of being updated to include headshot/action photos and bio. info. capsules for all 12 honorees – check back later for the full release).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *