Oregon baseball picked up a pair of honors after catcher Shaun Chase and starting pitcher Cole Irvin both were named Louisville Slugger preseason second-team All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Friday morning.
Chase is coming off one of his best seasons as a Duck. The junior finished second in the country in home runs per at bat, hitting one every 10.36 at bats. He also tied an Oregon single-season record with 14 homers, which led the Pac-12 and ranked seventh nationally.
Chase was also efficient last season, finishing with a batting average of .283, putting him third for Oregon. He finished with nine doubles and 37 RBI.
Irvin was placed onto the team despite missing all of 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The lefty was Oregon’s Saturday starter during the 2013 season; he finished with a school record 12 wins in his freshman year. He also had a 2.48 ERA, a 12-3 record and four complete games. The effort in his first year was good enough to be named a freshman All-American by both the NCBWA and Louisville Slugger.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur