Lincoln - Nebraska freshman
infielder Pat Kelly collected his third freshman All-America honor on
Wednesday, July 4, as he was named a first-team freshman All-American by
Baseball America. Previously, Kelly was honored by Collegiate Baseball and the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as a freshman All-American. Kelly
is the first Husker freshmen to be named to three All-America teams following
their first season at Nebraska since 2000, when Matt Hopper was honored by
Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and Baseball Weekly.
Overall, the
Huskers have picked up five national honors following the 2012 season, as
freshman pitcher Kyle Kubat was also named a freshmen All-American by Collegiate
Baseball and designated hitter Michael Prichard was a named a third-team
All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Kelly made a
quick transition to college pitching and was one of the Huskers' top offensive
threats with a .313 average, eight home runs and 37 RBI's in 41 starts. He was
twice named Big Ten Freshman of the Week and was a third-team All-Big Ten
selection.
The Red
Wing, Minn., native was third on the team with a .521 slugging percentage and
his eight home runs were the most homers by a freshman at Nebraska who played
at Haymarket Park. They were also the most homers by a Husker freshman since
2000, when Hopper hit 21 at Buck Beltzer Stadium. Kelly hit throughout the
Husker lineup and produced 16 extra-base hits, including six doubles and two
triples in addition to his eight home runs.
Kelly came
up with clutch hits all season for NU, as he hit .367 with runners on base and
.364 with runners in scoring position. He had 11 multi-hit games on the year,
including a pair of four-hit games. He drove in at least two runs 11 times,
including a career-high five RBI's against Penn State at the Big Ten Tournament
in a 12-3 win over the Nittany Lions.
This summer
Kelly is playing for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in the Northwoods League and
leads the team with a .318 batter average. In 31 games, Kelly is tied for ninth
in the 16-team league with 41 hits, including six doubles and two triples.
