May 24, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY - Baylor baseball student-athletes Max Muncy, Brooks Pinckard and Logan Verrett were named to the 2011 All-Big 12 Conference baseball teams announced by the league office on Tuesday. The teams were selected by Big 12 head coaches.
Pinckard and Muncy were named to the first team, while Verrett was a second-team honoree. Pinckard earned first-team honors as the league's utility player for the second straight season, while Verrett was named to the second team in two straight years. Muncy's honor is the first of his career.
Pinckard, one of three unanimous selections in the league, is Baylor's first two-time first-team selection since Zach Dillon in 2005 and 2006.
Texas junior Taylor Jungmann was named Pitcher of the Year, Texas A&M sophomore Tyler Naquin was selected Player of the Year, Oklahoma State junior Zach Johnson earned Newcomer of the Year, and Texas freshman Erich Weiss took Freshman of the Year honors. Texas' Augie Garrido and Texas A&M's Rob Childress were named Co-Coaches of the Year.
Baylor players have earned 91 all-conference honors in the league's 15-year history, and Pinckard and Muncy gives the 31 first-team selections.
A native of Buda, Texas, Pinckard has contributed as the Bears' center fielder, closer and most recently, as a starting pitcher in the weekend rotation. He leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks sixth nationally with 31 stolen bases despite starting in the field in only 41 of Baylor's 53 games.
On the mound, Pinckard has transitioned from relief pitcher to weekend starter. After making his first 51 career appearances on the mound in a relief role, Pinckard has started on the mound in five of Baylor's last 12 games. Since moving to the starter role, Pinckard has gone 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA in five games. He's held opponents to a .198 batting average while striking out 24 and walking just 11 in 28.1 innings.
For the season, Pinckard is hitting .299 (49-for-164) with seven doubles, five triples, two home runs, 16 RBI and 31 runs scored. He's been successful on 31 of 33 attempted steals and has drawn 19 walks to raise his on-base percentage to .392. On the mound, Pinckard is 5-2 with a 3.81 ERA and three saves in 52.0 innings pitched over 20 appearances.
Muncy, a sophomore from Keller, Texas, is hitting .329 (68-for-207) with eight doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 41 RBI, 36 runs scored and 32 walks against 31 strikeouts. He's also slugging .527 and reaching base at a .429 clip. Muncy leads the team in batting average, hits, runs, RBI, home runs, total bases, slugging percentage and walks. He's also the only Baylor player to start all 53 games this season.
In Big 12 play, Muncy leads the team in batting average (.349), hits (37), runs scored (17), doubles (7), total bases (61), walks (17), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.575).
Muncy ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in seven offensive categories. He ranks 10th in batting average, tied for eighth in hits, tied for fifth in home runs, eighth in total bases, tied for ninth in walks, eighth in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging percentage (.527).
Verrett, a junior from Corpus Christi, Texas, earned second-team honors for the second straight season. In 14 appearances on the mound, 13 of which were starts, Verrett has gone 6-4 with a 2.78 ERA, two complete games and one shutout. He's struck out 85 while walking just 23 in 87.1 innings pitched.
In Big 12 play, Verrett went 3-3 with a 2.92 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched while starting in all nine Big 12 series. He pitched 8.0 innings in each of his last three outings and hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 21.0 innings pitched. His 2.92 ERA during the Big 12 season was the sixth-best single-season number in program history, and his nine career Big 12 wins are tied for seventh on Baylor's all-time list.
Verrett is currently the program's all-time leader with a career 3.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His career 3.52 ERA in Big 12 play ranks third in program history, and his 150.2 career innings pitched in league play rank fourth on Baylor's all-time list. Verrett ranks eighth in program history with 246 career strikeouts and fourth with 149 career strikeouts in Big 12 play.
Baylor begins play in the 2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Bricktown Ballpark at 9 a.m. Wednesday against Oklahoma State State. With a win, the Bears will face the winner of the Texas-Missouri game at 4 p.m. Thursday, and with a loss, Baylor will player the loser of the Texas-Missouri game at 9 a.m. Thursday.
