Erickson adds to laurels

Blair Erickson, who amassed 17 saves to rank among the national

leaders as the freshman closer of the UC Irvine baseball team, has

made his seventh All-American team.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound right-hander has been named second-team

freshman All-American by Baseball America.

Erickson, competing at the USA Baseball national team trials,

pitched a perfect ninth inning Thursday, recording two strikeouts, to

complete a five-pitcher no-hitter in a 9-0 exhibition victory over

Canada at Durham, N.C.

Erickson, who fanned 51 in 37 1/3 innings to help lead the

Anteaters to the program’s first NCAA Division I regional, set a Big

West Conference freshman and UCI single-season record with his 17

saves.

He has now been named All-American by five different publications

and organizations.

Baseball America honored him as a midseason All-American. He

headlines Collegiate Baseball’s All-Freshman team as Co-Freshman of

the Year and is also a third-team All-American according to the

Tucson-based publication.

He was the lone freshman on USA Today/Sports Weekly’s All-America

roster, while the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association

named Erickson a third-team All-American.

CollegeBaseballInsider.com selected him second-team All-American.

Erickson was drafted in the 28th round by the Philadelphia

Phillies in 2003, despite missing his senior year at Jesuit High near

Sacramento with torn ankle ligaments.