Costanzo Named Louisville Slugger First Team All-American
6/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Coastal Carolina University junior Mike Costanzo (Springfield, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) has been named to the Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American First Team by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the publication announced today (June 2). It is Costanzo’s second All-America honor in as many weeks and he’s the first Chanticleer baseball player to earn first-team all-America status since the school became Division I.
Costanzo, who earned the first team honor as a utility player, leads Coastal in batting average (.388), hits (85), home runs (15), slugging percentage (.671), on-base percentage (.543) and walks (68). He also leads the Big South in batting average, on-base percentage and walks, where he also leads the country in walks per game. Costanzo was named the Big South Player of the Year for the second straight season and became the first player in Big South history to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. He also earned first team conference honors as both a pitcher and a first baseman, the first player to earn that honor in the Big South. The junior was named to the Big South All-Tournament team for his performance May 25-28. Costanzo had a 20-game hitting streak from April 8-May 13 and was named the Pro Line Cap National Player of the Week April 19 after going 6-for-8 with three home runs and seven RBI in a three-game series against Birmingham-Southern. On the mound, Costanzo is 8-1 with a 1.75 earned run average and leads the Big South with 13 saves. He has given up only 10 earned runs all season and did not give up his first earned run until April 10. Last week, Costanzo was named by USA Today Sports Weekly as a second team all-American. He has been on the watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year, the Golden Spikes Award, the Brooks Wallace Award and is one of 16 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy.
Coastal is the top seed in the NCAA Tempe Regional and faces fourth-seed UNLV Friday, June 3 at 5 p.m. EDT.
2005 Louisville Slugger First Team All-Americans
C Jeff Clement, Southern California
1B Matt LaPorta, Florida
2B Corey Wimberley, Alcorn State
SS Tyler Greene, Georgia Tech
3B Alex Gordon, Nebraska
OF Shane Robinson, Florida State
OF Trevor Crowe, Arizona
OF Brian Pettway, Mississippi
DH Chris Carlson, New Mexico
UT Mike Costanzo, Coastal Carolina
RHP Lance Broadway, TCU
RHP Luke Hochevar, Tennessee
RHP Dallas Buck, Oregon State
LHP Brian Bogusevic, Tulane
RHP Ian Kennedy, Southern California
RHP Mike Pelfrey, Wichita State
Relief Neil Jamison, Long Beach State
