Shaeffer Freshman All-American

UC Irvine designated hitter Ronnie Shaeffer, who led the Anteaters’ baseball team in hitting with a .388 average, has been named Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

Shaeffer, who cracked the lineup near the start of Big West Conference play, hit better than .400 until the final weekend of the regular season. He was 64 for 165 with four home runs and 36 runs batted in, the latter ranking fifth among Anteaters. He also had 12 doubles to help post a .533 slugging percentage, tops among regulars for UCI, which finished 45-15 and claimed the program’s first Big West title with a 22-2 mark.

“He’s a tough out,” UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said of Shaeffer, who started all 44 games in which he appeared. “It’s crazy to think that he hit close to .400 as a freshman. He did succeed in the fall and in January, so it’s not like he wasn’t doing it. But we weren’t aware that he was really going to be as legitimate as he was this season.”

Shaeffer had 18 multiple-hit games, including three four-hit games. He had a 12-game hitting streak and earned second-team all-conference recognition.

Shaeffer, who saw some duty at catcher, also had four stolen bases in six attempts.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder was four for 14 with three RBIs in four games in the Irvine Regional, in which the ’Eaters went 2-2 and were eliminated in the championship game by Virginia on Sunday.

— From staff reports