Maxwell and Purke Honored By Mountain West Conference
5/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 24, 2010
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The 2010 Mountain West Conference baseball regular season champions cleaned up at the annual awards ceremony Monday night prior to the opening of the 2010 Conoco MWC Baseball Championships.
In all, the Frogs had 10 all-conference performers, including nine first-team honorees. Steven Maxwell took home Pitcher of the Year honors and Matt Purke was named the Freshman of the Year. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle earned his fifth consecutive Coach of the Year honor and the sixth of his career.
Maxwell and Purke headline the Frogs' first-team honorees. They are joined by catcher Bryan Holaday, first baseman Matt Curry, second baseman Jerome Pena, shortstop Taylor Featherston, outfielders Jason Coats and Brance Rivera and relief pitcher Tyler Lockwood. Kyle Winkler was the Frogs' lone representative on the second team.
Maxwell is the fourth Horned Frog to garner Pitcher of the Year honors and the second in the Mountain West as Jake Arrieta took home the honor in 2006. He has had a tremendous junior campaign with a 9-1 record in 14 starts. The righty has posted a 2.93 ERA in 83 innings pitched with 74 strikeouts and a .236 batting average against. In league play, he was 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA over the course of eight starts.
Purke is just the third Horned Frog to be named Freshman of the Year and the second under Schlossnagle. Chad Huffman was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2004. He has had an outstanding freshman campaign, leading the league with a perfect 11-0 record. In 15 appearances, he has a 3.51 ERA spanning 82 innings pitched. He also leads the squad with 99 strikeouts. In conference action, Purke went 6-0 with a 3.78 ERA.
A three-time all-conference performer, Holaday took home his second first-team honor. The senior has put together a career season with a .367 batting average in 54 games played. He has a career-high 12 home runs and 21 doubles to go along with a 44 RBIs. Holaday hit .338 in league play with eight home runs and 23 RBIs.
Matt Curry earned his first all-conference nod at first base. Curry has had a career-year as a senior hitting .363 with a team-high 17 home runs and a school-record 25 doubles. His 56 RBIs are second on the squad. In league play, Curry hit .337 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs.
Jerome Pena was selected as the first-team all-conference second baseman. In his first campaign at TCU, he is hitting .338 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs. In conference play, the junior hit .375 with six home runs and a team-leading 31 RBIs.
After earned second-team honors last season, sophomore Taylor Featherston took home first-team honors at shortstop. Featherston has had a solid second season at TCU, hitting .322 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 35 RBIs. In conference action, Featherston hit .317 with all six of his home runs and 20 RBIs.
Another sophomore who has put together a great season, Jason Coats was selected as a first-team all-conference outfielder. He has put up career highs in average (.368), runs scored (57), hits (81), doubles (19), home runs (13) and RBIs (60). He was even better in league play with a .406 average. He collected eight doubles, one triple and five home runs while driving in 28.
Joining Coats as a first-team all-conference performer in the outfield was Brance Rivera. The sophomore leads the team with a .391 batting average. He has collected seven doubles and six home runs and driven in 26 runs. Even more impressive was his .471 batting average in 23 conference games.
Tyler Lockwood has earned his second first-team all-conference nod, this one as a relief pitcher. He was honored as a starting pitcher in 2008. Lockwood has been stellar out of the bullpen this season. In 22 appearances, he has posted a 6-2 record and three saves to go along with a 2.10 ERA. Lockwood was 3-1 in seven conference appearances with one save.
The sole second-team all-conference member for the Frogs is sophomore Kyle Winkler. The right-hander is 9-1 this season in 14 starts. He has tossed a team-high 91 1/3 innings and posted a 3.25 ERA. In league play, Winkler was 4-1 with a 4.37 ERA over eight starts.
TCU begins tournament play Wednesday night against the lowest seed to advance from Tuesday's first round action. Game time for the Frogs contest is set for 9 p.m. (CST). All games will air live on The Mtn. (DirecTV channel 616) and on KTCU 88.7 FM.
