MIAMI (June 8, 2017) – For the first time in program history, the FIU baseball team had three Panthers earn Freshman All-America honors in the same season.
Javier Valdes,
Nick MacDonald, and
Tyler Myrick were named to this year's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-America Team, the publication announced on Wednesday, June 7. The three selections tied FIU for the most by any team in the nation and were the most by any school in the state of Florida.
Valdes hit .287 with five home runs and 36 RBI this past season. He was third on the team with 11 doubles and also recorded a triple. Valdes had 56 hits in his first collegiate season, fourth-most on the Panthers team.
Valdes played in 54 of the 58 games for FIU last season. The freshman just missed hitting for the cycle against Western Kentucky on May 18. Valdes was 3-for-5 with a single, triple, home run and seven RBI against the Hilltoppers in a 23-6 victory for the Panthers.
MacDonald was 7-3 with a 4.29 ERA this past season while pitching out of the Friday and Sunday slots. The right-hander pitched 71 1/3 innings and struck out 68 batters, while walking 30.
In nine of his 13 starts, MacDonald allowed three runs or less. MacDonald earned Conference USA Pitcher of the Week early last season after he beat Manhattan by pitching 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and striking out nine batters.
Myrick, who started most Saturday games, led all FIU starters with a 3.73 ERA last season while posting a 6-2 record. The right-hander struck out 57 batters in 72 1/3 innings while he walked just 28.
Myrick allowed three runs or less in nine of his 10 starts last season, including a stretch of seven straight starts where he allowed three runs or less. Myrick had his best start last season against WKU, when he pitched seven shutout innings and struck out six in a 6-0 win.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
About FIU:
Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute. FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
