The No. 1/3 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team has had three players earn All-America accolades. Junior third baseman Jay Jabs , sophomore right-hander Anthony Matarazzo and senior right-hander Tanner Bird all landed on the CCA All-America Second Team.
It is the first career All-America nod from the CCA for Jabs. Both Matarazzo and Bird earn their first career All-America selections.
Somehow, Jabs has managed to improve on last year’s already gaudy numbers and has posted a .363/.476/.662 slash line through 55 games and 204 at-bats (74-for-204) so far in 2016. Through the East Regional, he is tied for 16th in the country in runs batted in (69), ranks 26th in runs batted in per game (1.25), is tied for 27th in walks (41), is tied for 45th in home runs (14) and is tied for 48th in total bases (135). Within the Northeast-10, Jabs ranks first in slugging percentage, home runs and runs batted in; second in walks; third in on-base percentage; fifth in runs scored (60); sixth in batting average and hits; tied for 11th in doubles (13); tied for 13th in triples (3); and tied for 17th in stolen bases (16).
Matarazzo, who logged just 9.2 innings as a freshman a year ago, adds the All-America honor to his consensus All-East Region selection from earlier this spring.
Bird, who had just 12.1 collegiate innings to his name entering the season, exploded onto the scene from the Ravens bullpen as a senior and was also a consensus All-East Region pick before collected the All-America accolade.
He has made 21 appearances on the mound, including one start, and has logged 58 innings while recording 66 strikeouts (10.24 per nine innings), on his way to a 1.55 ERA, an 8-1 record and three saves. Bird currently ranks fourth in the country in WHIP (0.83), fifth in ERA, ninth in hits allowed per nine innings (5.59) and 22nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.50). He has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 36 hits and has walked 12 against the 66 strikeouts. Within the Northeast-10, Bird ranks first in ERA, ranks fourth in strikeouts per nine innings, is tied for fifth in wins and ranks 13th in strikeouts.