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.
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