The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Four Blazers Named All-Conference USA
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --UAB baseball players James Naile, Adam Lau, Esteban Tresgallo and Ryan Ruggles have been named to the 2015 All-Conference USA Team, the league office announced Tuesday.
Naile, a redshirt junior RHP, landed a spot on the first team after an impressive comeback season from injury. The Charleston, Mo. native went 9-3 in the regular season with a 2.36 ERA. He struck out 83 hitters and held opponents to a .198 batting average, which leads all C-USA pitchers.
Tresgallo and Lau each earned All-C-USA Second Team honors. Tresgallo got hot at the plate to end the regular season and has evolved into UAB's leading hitter with a .301 average and team-best 11 home runs. The Guaynabo, Puerto Rico native has the fourth-best slugging percentage in the league (.582) and drew 41 starts in the regular season.
Lau, a second team selection in the DH/UTL role, has been one of the top Blazers out of the pen with a 1.71 ERA and seven saves. He also ranks third in C-USA in games finished with 18 and has held opponents to a batting average of .181 on the year. He is also UAB's top base stealer with 12 on the year and is hitting .256 with four long balls and 20 RBI.
Ruggles earned his way on to the C-USA All-Freshman Team after tossing 45.0 innings in relief with a 4-2 record and 4.20 ERA. The Sheffield, Ala. native appeared in 20 games in the regular season with six starts and becomes UAB's 13th all-freshman team selection.
Naile is the 16th player in Blazer history to earn a spot on the first team, while Lau and Tresgallo push UAB's all-time second team total to 21.
UAB opens play at the C-USA Championship Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. vs. Southern Miss.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Baseball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official Twitter account of UAB Athletics (@UABAthletics).
