Hinckley Named to John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List
One of the 24 players nationally named to the watch list.
Junior Andrew Hinckley of the Central Connecticut baseball team was named to the 2016 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list it was announced by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday. The award honors the nation's top player both on the mound and at the plate.
"We had a tremendous task in picking last year's winner, and the talent on this year's list tops that," Olerud award co-chair George Watson said. "The incumbent is going to have plenty of company throughout the season to try to repeat as the 2016 winner. It should be a fun group to keep track of as the season progresses."
In his first season with the Blue Devils, Hinckley has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the Northeast Conference. The junior righthander currently ranks third in the NEC in earned run average at 2.66. He is also among the league leaders with a 4-3 record in nine appearances across 44.0 innings. He has a pair of complete game shutouts, which ranks second in the conference in both categories. He has recorded 32 strikeouts against just eight walks in 44.0 innings of work and is limiting opposing batters to a .236 average. Hinckley has also notched one save and recently had a stretch of 23.0 consecutive scoreless innings.
At the plate, Hinckley has posted a .304 average while batting in the middle of the CCSU lineup. He has five doubles on the season and a homerun, which he hit in Central's first homegame of the season. His .405 slugging percentage is fourth on the team and he has collected seven multi-hit games.
A total of 24 players were named to the watch list. 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 1-2 in Lubbock.
Hinckley is the first representative from the NEC named to the watch list since former Blue Devil Josh Ingham was named to the watch list during the 2014 season.
For more information on the Olerud Award or the College Baseball Hall of Fame's Night of Champions, visitwww.collegebaseballhall.org.
