Hinckley Named to John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Top 18

Junior Andrew Hinckley of the Central Connecticut baseball team is among the top 18 players on the watch list for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award.  The award is named for the former Washington State University standout who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s and who was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Hinckley is the only representative from the Northeast Conference on the list of the top 18 players, which has representation from 13 conferences in total. On the year, Hinckley is hitting .279 with two homeruns and 14 runs batted in to go with 12 runs scored. On the mound, he is 6-3 with a 3.34 ERA, five complete games, two shutouts and a 45-15 strikeout-walk ratio in 59.1 innings pitched. He ranks in the top 10 in the NEC in seven pitching categories, including second in shutouts and complete games, fourth in wins and fifth in opponent batting average (.233). 

"Paring down to 18 of the top two-way players in the nation from our initial watch list proved to be a daunting task given the tremendous amount of talent across the country," Olerud Award co-chair George Watson said. "I can only imagine how tough it's going to be trying to get down to a list of semifinalists, finalists and picking a winner in the coming weeks."

The award is named for the former Washington State University standout who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s and who was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. The award will be presented as part of the Hall of Fame's Night of Champions celebration July 2 in Lubbock.

"We have a tremendous collection of talent for this year's award, all of whom are having outstanding seasons," Olerud award co-chair Chris Curbo said. "Each one of these players truly exemplifies what it means to be a two-way player in the true spirit of the Olerud Award."

For more information on the Olerud Award or the College Baseball Hall of Fame's Night of Champions, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.

Hinckley and the Blue Devils are back in action this weekend with a four-game series at Bryant beginning on Friday, May 13.