Press Release
Garett Wall UofL Baseball SID
DALLAS – The Louisville baseball team led all programs with four players named as semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy as announced Friday by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Junior pitcher Drew Harrington, sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay, junior outfielder Corey Ray and junior second baseman Nick Solak were among the 43 semifinalists for the award, given to the top player in collegiate baseball.
This is the 30th year of the Dick Howser Trophy. The finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 9. The 2016 award will be presented at TD Ameritrade Stadium in downtown Omaha, the home of the College World Series for the sixth year. The winner will be unveiled on MLB Network on Friday, June 17 and then a press conference with the winner will be held on Saturday, June 18 at 10 a.m. (CDT), the opening day of the 2016 CWS.
Harrington moved to 11-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.66 with Friday’s victory at Wake Forest. The lefty from Elizabethtown, Kentucky has 71 strikeouts and just 22 walks in 14 starts and 92.0 innings pitched this season.
On the mound, McKay has an 11-2 record, a 1.99 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 14 starts and 90.2 innings pitched. At the plate, the two-way standout from Darlington, Pennsylvania enters the final day of the regular season hitting .342 with three home runs, 19 doubles and 34 RBI in 53 starts as a hitter.
Ray has a .323 batting average and leads the fourth-ranked Cardinals with 14 home runs, 57 RBI and 37 stolen bases while starting all 55 games in the outfield. The Chicago native also has 16 doubles, 29 walks and 49 runs scored to pace the way for one of the nation’s best offenses.
From Woodridge, Illinois, Solak enters the final day of the regular season with a .398 batting average, three home runs and 23 RBI in 36 starts at second base. The team captain also has 13 doubles, 44 runs scored and a .579 slugging percentage this season.
The candidates for this year’s Dick Howser Trophy hail from 17 different conferences and 34 different schools. The Atlantic Coast Conference leads the way with 13 semifinalists, followed by the Southeastern Conference with eight and the Big 12 and Sun Belt with three each. Every position on the diamond is represented, including eight starting pitchers, five third basemen, five outfielders, four shortstops, four first basemen, four catchers, four relief pitchers, three second basemen, three utility players and three designated hitters.
The No. 4 Cardinals close the regular season on Saturday at 1 p.m., ET in the weekend finale at Wake Forest.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
