LEXINGTON, Ky. — After racking up Southeastern Conference and National Player of the Week honors, Kentucky senior right fielder Sawyer Carroll has been tabbed on the ?National All-Star Lineup?, released Thursday by the College Baseball Foundation.
Carroll posted one of the more prolific offensive weeks in the history of the Wildcat baseball program, racking up a .667 (14-for-21) average during UK?s 6-0 week. Carroll homered in four consecutive games to end the week and finished with 17 RBI, three doubles, and a triple during the week.
Now batting an amazing .618 (21-for-34) on the season, Carroll leads the SEC in five offensive categories, including hits (21), RBI (25), total bases (43), on-base percentage (.696), and slugging percentage (1.265). Carroll, one of three Wildcats on the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Watch List, ranks second to UK centerfielder Collin Cowgill in runs scored (18), fourth in doubles (5), and second in walks (10). Currently riding a seven-game hit streak, Carroll has connected for three hits in four consecutive games, batting .778 (14-for-18) in UK?s last five contests.
Kentucky (10-0) has dominated its opening opposition by a combined 136-22 score, plating 10 or more runs in every game. The Wildcats leads the league in average (.375), on-base percentage (.496), slugging (.631), runs (136), doubles (36), triples (5), RBI (125), walks (63), and sacrifices (12). On the mound, UK ranks as the league leader in ERA (1.74), opponent batting average (.191), wins (10), fewest runs allowed (22), fewest earned runs allowed (17), fewest walks (13), and ranks second in strikeouts (101) in just 88 innings.
Ranked as high as No. 9 by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, UK checks in to all four of the widely recognized polling services (Baseball America ? No. 24, USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll ? No. 18, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association – No. 20).
The Wildcats return to action with a weekend series with the Purdue Boilermakers, beginning on Saturday at Cliff Hagan Stadium. With the opener originally scheduled for 4 p.m. ET Friday and the threat of inclement weather, the game was postponed. Game times for the weekend four-game series will be announced Friday morning.
Carroll was one of 11 players named to the list, along with SEC coaches Ray Tanner (South Carolina) and Paul Mainieri (LSU), who each earned their 900th career wins last week. LSU junior Matt Clark and Ole Miss freshman Matt Smith rounded out the SEC honorees.
The College Baseball Foundation is dedicated to preserving college baseball history and recognizing standout teams and individuals who have influenced the collegiate game.
The College Baseball Foundation releases its “National All-Star Lineup” each week, giving accolades to the past week’s top performers. The “National All-Star Lineup” is nominated by college coaches, staff, and baseball media contacts.
