Fresno State Athletics
Baseball Team Names Award Winners
5/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 31, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team has announced its award winners for the 2000 season. A total of eight awards were presented to members of this year's squad that posted a 40-21 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.
All-WAC first baseman Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.) was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Gemoll hit a team-best .367 and led the squad in hits (91), multi-hit games (30), total bases (129) and tied for the team lead with three stolen bases.
Left-handed relief pitcher Hans Smith (Sr., Central Point, Ore.) earned Most Outstanding Pitcher honors. Smith led the pitching staff in appearances (33), wins (8), saves (9) and ERA (2.56) this season. The All-WAC choice posted the third-best single-season save total in school history and set Fresno State's all-time saves mark with his 17th career save on May 21.
Ben Fritz (Fr., San Jose, Calif.) and Mike Hernandez (Fr., Fresno, Calif.) shared Rookie of the Year accolades. Fritz, who doubled at both catcher and pitcher, hit .260 with 13 runs scored and 16 RBIs at the plate and was 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 27.2 innings on the mound (16 appearances/three starts). Hernandez, who was the WAC Freshman of the Year, posted a 5-1 record with a 6.89 ERA and struck out 54 hitters in 47 innings of work (25 appearances/one start).
Second baseman Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) won the Gold Glove and Most Inspirational awards. Creighton, who hit .279 and scored 48 runs from the leadoff spot, committed only seven errors and posted a .978 fielding percentage this season. He was the only player to earn two awards.
Right-handed starting pitcher Shawn Hannah (Sr., Clovis, Calif.) was named the team's Most Improved Player. Hannah posted a 7-4 record with a 3.57 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) this year. The 6-foot-3 right-hander led the staff in innings (108.1), quality starts (nine), complete games (three) and tied for the team lead with one shutout.
Shortstop Oscar Lopez (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) was given the Coaches' Award. Lopez appeared in 37 games and started 28. Lopez hit .198 with seven RBIs and the Bulldogs were 17-11 when he started this season.
Left fielder Anthony Acevedo (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif.) received the Student-Athlete Achievement Award. Acevedo, who maintains a 3.54 grade-point average in kinesiology, was named to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America District VIII team and one of 10 finalists for the inaugural John McClendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship. He hit .313 this season and led the team with nine home runs and 56 RBIs and tied for the team lead with 20 doubles. In fact, Acevedo ended his two-year career in fifth place on Fresno State's all-time doubles list with 44 career two-baggers.
A complete list of this year's award winners is below.
2000 Baseball Award Winners
Most Valuable Player - Brandon Gemoll
Most Outstanding Pitcher - Hans Smith
Rookies of the Year - Ben Fritz & Mike Hernandez
Gold Glove - Tom Creighton
Most Improved - Shawn Hannah
Most Inspirational - Tom Creighton
Coaches' Award - Oscar Lopez
Student-Athlete Achievement - Anthony Acevedo
