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HomeSportsAPSU Baseball's Garrett Copeland named a semifinalist for Olson Award

APSU Baseball’s Garrett Copeland named a semifinalist for Olson Award

Austin Peay Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Governors - APSUOmaha, NE – Infielder Garrett Copeland of Austin Peay State University’s baseball team has been named one of 32 semifinalists for the 2015 Gregg Olson Award, presented to college baseball’s breakout player of the year.

Copeland, of Bartlett, Tennessee, continued to be one of Austin Peay’s most dependable players during his sophomore campaign.

APSU's Garrett Copeland

For a second consecutive season the sophomore infielder appeared in every Governors game, running his consecutive games played streak to 107 games.

However, he also became one of Austin Peay’s most productive players in his second season, finishing third on the team with a .345 batting average and leading APSU with a .463 on-base percentage. Copeland posted five home runs and 29 RBI during the season and led the Govs with 13 stolen bases.

He was named second-team All-Ohio Valley Conference – one of three Governors players to earn postseason honors.

As a sophomore, Copeland showed dramatic improvement in all phases of his game. At the plate he posted a 117-point improvement in batting average, after batting .228 as a freshman. He also showed a 101-point improvement in on-base percentage, thanks to dropping his strikeout total from 49 in 206 at-bats as a freshman to 32 in 197 at-bats as a sophomore.

Defensively, Copeland started 45 games at second base and six games at shortstop in 2015 and committed only three errors in 235 chances (.987 fielding percentage). It was a stark improvement from a freshman campaign that saw him charged with 17 errors in 274 chances (.938 fielding percentage) while being shuffled between three infield positions.

The Olson Award was developed to honor college baseball’s success stories and showcase players like Olson who have raised the level of their game through hard work, strength of mind and determination. Eligible players are those who are omitted from major publication’s preseason All American prognostications; however by the end of the season their on the field performance demonstrates they are among the top amateur baseball players in the nation.

Finalists are scheduled to be announced Friday, June 6th at the beginning of Super Regional action. The winner of the 2015 Gregg Olson Award will be named in Omaha, Nebraska during the College World Series.

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