May 29, 2012
Nashville, Tenn. – A pair of Vanderbilt Commodores earned Southeastern Conference honors with Anthony Gomez named first team All-SEC and Tyler Beede named to the All-Freshman team.
Gomez has led Vanderbilt in numerous offensive categories while starting every game this season to extend his consecutive games started streak to 173 games entering the postseason. Gomez has hit a team-best .354 with a team-high 51 RBI up to this point in the season, hitting his way into the all-time top 10 in hits at VU with 261 hits for ninth place and 39 shy of the school record. During the season he has held down a spot at the top of the lineup and started every game in the middle of the field at either shortstop or second base. The Nutley, N.J. native was named to the All-Freshman team and first team All-SEC during his freshman campaign in 2010. With Gomez’s election to the first team it marks the seventh straight season a Commodore has been named first team All-SEC.
Beede was thrust into a starting role as a true freshman on opening weekend at Stanford before making nine starts in the rugged SEC. In league play the right-hander posted a 1-2 record with a 3.91 ERA, fanning a team-best 45 batters in a team-high 48.2 innings. The Auburn, Mass. native worked six-plus innings allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts to earn his first career win against South Carolina on March 31. Later in the season, Beede worked seven scoreless innings and matched a career-best with eight strikeouts in a no decision against third-ranked Kentucky.
Gomez, Beede and the rest of the Commodores open NCAA Tournament Regional play in Raleigh, N.C. against UNC-Wilmington on Friday at 1 p.m.
A full list of awards recipients is below.
SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Raph Rhymes, LSU
SEC PITCHER OF THE YEAR – Chris Stratton, Mississippi State
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Austin Cousino, Kentucky
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Michael Roth, South Carolina
FIRST TEAM
1B – Christian Walker, South Carolina
2B – Alex Yarbrough, Ole Miss
3B – Matt Reynolds, Arkansas
SS – Anthony Gomez, Vanderbilt
C – Mike Zunino, Florida
OF – Raph Rhymes, LSU
OFâ€Ë†– Preston Tucker, Florida
OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama
DH/UTL – Brian Johnson, Florida
P – Chris Stratton, Mississippi State
P – Kevin Gausman, LSU
RP – Steven Rodriguez, Florida
SECOND TEAM
1B – Matt Snyder, Ole Miss
2B – Bo Bigham, Arkansas
3B – Curt Powell, Georgia
SS – Nolan Fontana, Florida
C – Luke Maile, Kentucky
OF – Austin Cousino, Kentucky
OF – Ryan Tella, Auburn
OF – Mason Katz, LSU
DH – Drew Steckenrider, Tennessee
P – Alex Wood, Georgia
P – Corey Littrell, Kentucky
P – Bobby Wahl, Ole Miss
RP – Matt Price, South Carolina
ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
1B – A.J. Reed, Kentucky
2B – Will Maddox, Tennessee
3B – Josh Tobias, Florida
SS – Joey Pancake, South Carolina
C – Grayson Greiner, South Carolina
OF – Austin Cousino, Kentucky
OFâ€Ë†– Tanner English, South Carolina
OF – Hunter Cole, Georgia
OF – Ben Moore, Alabama
DH/UTL – A.J. Reed, Kentucky
P – Aaron Nola, LSU
P – Tyler Beede, Vanderbilt
RP – Jonathan Holder, Mississippi State
ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM
P – Ryan Eades, LSU
P – Kendall Graveman, Mississippi State
P – Michael Roth, South Carolina
1B -Dominic Ficociello, Arkansas
2B – Alex Yarbrough, Ole Miss
SS – Nolan Fontana, Florida
3B – Matt Reynolds, Arkansas
C – Mike Zunino, Florida
OF – Evan Marzilli, South Carolina
OF – Taylor Dugas, Alabama
OFâ€Ë†– Austin Cousino, Kentucky
