Mike Adams Named Tino Martinez Award Finalist
OMAHA, Neb. - Ten finalists for the 2013 Tino Martinez Award have been announced, with University of Tampa pitcher Mike Adams among the final group. The award is presented to the most outstanding player in DII college baseball.
The annual honor is named after the former University of Tampa Spartan, United States Olympian, first round draft pick and MLB All-Star, Tino Martinez.
Initial nominations for the award were made by baseball sports information contacts and media members. A panel of media, coaches, sports information officers and former players were polled to determine the finalists and the group will vote once again vote to determine the winner. A fan Internet vote is planned to also contributing to the crowning of the winner.
Adams, a junior left-handed pitcher from Spring Hill, Fla., has established himself as the workhorse for Tampa's pitching staff. In 24 appearances, he now stands at 7-0 with a 2.43 ERA and six saves. In 55.2 innings of work, he has tallied 69 strikeouts to just seven walks. He has recently been named both the Sunshine State Conference and Rawlings/AFCA South Region Pitcher of the Year.
Three of the ten players in contention for the award are still playing baseball and will be looking to help their team win the DII Baseball Championship held in Cary, NC from May 25th to June 1st. The winner of the award will be announced following the tournament.
The recipient of the 2012 Tino Martinez Award was senior first baseman Nathan Minnich of Shepherd University (W.V.). Minnich finished the season batting .487 (74 for 152) with 21 home runs, 12 doubles and 72 RBIs, while racking up a .980 slugging percentage. He led the country in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, walks per game and RBIs.
Chase Larsson of the Cameron Aggies was the recipient of the award last season after leading DII in home runs (29), RBI (84), slugging percentage (1.000) and total bases (190). MountOlive's Carter Capps, the 2011 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's National Pitcher of the Year, finished in a close second.
Erskine's Bryan Fogle won the first edition of the award in 2010 after batting .430 and leading DII with 28 home runs, 103 RBI (the second most in NCAA history) and 203 total bases. The Flying Fleet star was drafted by Tampa Bay following the season. Runner-up Hayden Simpson of Southern Arkansas was a first round draft choice of the Chicago Cubs.
2013 TINO MARTINEZ AWARD FINALISTS
Adams, Mike Jr. LHP Tampa
Dillon, Matt Jr. RHP Mount Olive
Fink, Grant Sr. 3B Missouri Western State
Graham, Trevor Jr. RHP Franklin Pierce
Martin, Harvey Sr. RHP Minnesota State
Petty, Kyle Sr. UTL Cal U
Scott, Cameron Sr. 1B Columbus State
Sell, Nick So. 3B Seton Hill
Sidhu, Harmen Sr. RHP Sonoma State
Wuest, Brian Sr. 1B/OF Nebraska Kearney