Meggs, Forgione Earn Top Pac-12 Honors
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Lindsay Meggs was named Coach of the Year and shortstop Erik Forgione was named Defensive Player of the Year, while four Huskies took home All-Conference honors as the Pac-12 released its list of post-season honors Wednesday.
The Huskies’ fifth-year coach took home the school’s ninth Coach of the Year honor; the first since 1998. Meggs led Washington to a 39-15-1 overall record and a second-place finish in Conference at 21-9. The Huskies, who were picked in the coaches’ pre-season poll 10th out of 11 teams, were ranked as high as a school-record fifth in Baseball America’s poll this season.
Forgione spearheaded a Husky defense that led the Pac-12 with a .981 fielding percentage and had the league’s fewest errors (42) despite having the second most chances (2,192). The junior from Chehalis, Wash., led the Pac-12 with 193 assists and was second turning 42 double plays. Forgione had a fielding percentage of .972, committing just eight errors in 285 chances.
Joining Forgione on the All-Defensive team was three of his teammates. Catcher Austin Rei, second baseman Andrew Ely and centerfielder Braden Bishop were also among the ten-man squad. No other team had more than one player on the All-Defensive team.
Rei and Ely were also named All-Conference, along with outfielder Brian Wolfe and right-handed pitcher Tyler Davis.
Davis was one of 21 Golden Spikes semifinalists named Tuesday and is also on the watch list for the Dick Howser Award and Gregg Olson Breakout Player of the Year. Davis finished the regular season 10-2 with a 1.75 ERA.
Wolfe finished second overall in the conference with a .361 average and was first in Pac-12-only play with a .383 average. He tied for the team high with five home runs and led the squad with 35 RBI. Like Davis, Wolfe is on the Gregg Olson Breakout Player of the Year watch list after entering the season with a .215 career average.
Rei hit .329 in the regular season with two home runs and 27 RBI. His .471 slugging percentage ranked ninth in the conference, while he was eighth with a .421 on-base percentage. Rei started all 30 Pac-12 games behind the dish and upped his average to .367 in league play to rank third among all players.
Ely was not only one of the league’s best defensive players, but was lethal with his bat. He hit .306 on the season with two homers and 31 RBI. He had 14 multi-hit games and had a 19-game hit streak during the season.
Ely clinched two series for the Huskies against two teams that would go on to earn NCAA berths. He hit a go-ahead 11th inning home run at Arizona State that lifted Washington to a 4-3 win and hit a walk-off, bases loaded, three-run double in the 10th inning vs. Oregon that gave the Huskies a 5-4 win.
Seven Huskies also earned honorable mention honors. Bishop, pitcher Jeff Brigham, pitcher Trevor Dunlap, Forgione, designated hitter Trevor Mitsui, outfielder Robert Pehl and relief pitcher Troy Rallings all received consideration.
Oregon State’s Michael Conforto was the Player of the Year and Individual batting champion, while Beavers’ left-hander Jace Fry was Pitcher of the Year. Stanford’s Cal Quantrill was named Freshman of the Year.
