D1Baseball awards top freshman honors to pair of Gophers

Published 3:22 pm Sunday, July 8, 2018

When you thought the 2018 postseason baseball award season was finally complete, D1Baseball.com provided more life, as the organization announced its Freshman All-America teams on Thursday with Minnesota’s Patrick Fredrickson and Max Meyer earning their fourth Freshman All-America First Team honor of the offseason.

Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, and Perfect Game each gave the duo their national honors for rookies, while D1Baseball, Collegiate Baseball, and ABCA/Rawlings also placed them among their picks for overall All-Americans as well.

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NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball both named Fredrickson the National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, while Collegiate Baseball selected Meyer as its Freshman Relief Pitcher of the Year.

Fredrickson made 19 appearances and 15 starts for the Gophers, posting a 9-0 record and 1.86 ERA during his rookie campaign. The Big Ten’s Pitcher and Freshman of the Year struck out 73 batters in 97.0 innings while walking just 27. Opponents batted just .209 against the right-hander whose ERA ranked 12th in the nation. The native of Gig Harbor, Washington also ranked in the top 50 with a 1.01 WHIP and 6.59 nine hits allowed per nine innings.

Meyer, who is currently competing for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, made 26 appearances out of the Minnesota bullpen, matching the program record of 16 saves. The native of Woodbury, Minnesota earned First Team All-Big Ten honors and a spot on the Minneapolis Regional All-Tournament Team. In 43.2 innings, he posted a 2-3 record and 2.06 ERA.

The Gophers relief ace struck out 54 batters compared to just 13 walks on the season. Opposing batters hit just .163 against him, and he allowed less than one baserunner per inning with a 0.94 WHIP. His 16 saves ranked third in the nation after the Super Regional round.