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Friday, June 7, 2002
Derek DeCarlo earns Freshman
All-America Baseball honors;
Edwards taken in MLB Draft
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photo by Geoff Anderson
Derek DeCarlo became
the fourth FIU baseball player ever to be named as a Louisville
Slugger All-American. |
 reshman
pitcher Derek DeCarlo was honored Thursday with inclusion
on the 2002 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team as
chosen by Collegiate Baseball newspaper while senior Andrew
Edwards became the fifth Golden Panther selected in this
week's Major League Baseball amateur draft.
DeCarlo, who earlier this month was named Freshman of the
Year and a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, became
the ace of the FIU staff after going 11-0 in 14 starting appearances
with a 3.53 ERA.
The 6-feet-3 right-hander from Miami Southridge High School
was one of only two undefeated pitchers appearing in the NCAA
Division I statistics for victories through June 2 (the other
is Wake Forest sophomore Kyle Sleeth at 14-0).
DeCarlo's 11 straight victories was the longest winning streak
for any freshman pitcher in the 30-year history of Golden Panthers
baseball.
He was the only pitcher on the staff this season with a complete
game (he had two), while leading the team with 94.1 innings of
work and 92 strikeouts.
DeCarlo is the fourth FIU player ever to be honored with Freshman
All-America stature. The others were current Florida Marlin third
baseman Mike Lowell (1993), catcher Jeff Rodriguez
(1996) and pitcher Ozzie Lugo (2000).
The Seattle Mariners drafted Edwards in the 41st round.
The 6-feet-5, 210-pound junior was a junior college transfer
from Briarcliffe College on Long Island, N.Y. pitched the season
opener for FIU before an injury ended his year.
Projected to be the ace of the staff, he suffered a torn ulnar
collateral ligament in his debut for the Golden Panthers against
UCF on Feb. 1, and didn't pitch again this year.
Edwards joins Brad Eldred (Pittsburgh), Lugo (Anaheim),
Bernie Gonzalez (Colorado) and Tommy Dueñas
(Anaheim) as MLB drafted players off the FIU baseball roster.
One future Golden Panther who went undrafted was Southridge
senior right-handed pitcher Edgar Ramirez, who Thursday
was named to the Florida Sports Writers Association's first-team
6A all-state team.
Ramirez has signed a national letter of intent to attend FIU
in the fall. |