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HomeSportsAPSU's Parker Phillips notches Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honor

APSU’s Parker Phillips notches Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honor

APSU Sports Information

APSU BaseballTuscon, AZ – Catcher Parker Phillips, of Austin Peay State University’s baseball team, was named to the 2017 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American team, Wednesday.  

It is the first time since 2014 an Austin Peay freshman has been recognized on the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team.

APSU Baseball - Parker Phillips

Phillips is the 13th Govs freshman earn Freshman All-America honors, joining a list that began with A.J. Ellis in 2000.

Phillips, who also received Ohio Valley Conference All-Freshman honors in May, set an Austin Peay freshman record with 12 homers in his rookie campaign – second most among Govs hitters in 2017. He also set the program’s all-time record with 22 times hit by pitch, surpassing the mark set by Tyler Childress in 2012.

The Collierville, Tennessee product led the Governors in slugging percentage (.613) and on-base percentage (.442) in 2017 while ranking third in batting average (.328). His 15 doubles were second-most on the squad and his 40 RBI was fourth on the team.

Phillips began his first season at Austin Peay with a red-hot start, batting .450 through the season’s first 11 games. He posted six multi-hit games in that opening stretch, including a 4-for-5 outing against Mercer, March 5th, before a 2-for-4, three RBI outing the next day that capped the opening push.

His average would cool slightly over the next two weeks, bottoming out at .318 during the Murray State series. However, at that moment Phillips showed off his power in an OVC series against eventual league champion Tennessee Tech, March 24th-25th. He supplied four home runs and six RBI as part of a 7-for-10 outing that also saw him reach base 11 times in 14 plate appearances.

Phillips suffered an injury during the Southeast Missouri series, March 31st, saw him miss a week of action and led to a month-long battle to regain his form at the plate. The battle would see his average reach a season-low .317 after the Govs series against SIU Edwardsville, May 7th.

However, a move to first base in a May 9th outing against Evansville proved to be the jump start he would need down the stretch as he became the third Govs hitter to post a five-hit outing in 2017 with a 5-for-5 effort in that contest. It was the start of a 10-game stretch that saw Phillips go 15-for-33 (.455) at the plate with four home runs and 13 RBI. He capped the run with a 2-for-2, four RBI outing in the Govs OVC tourney-opening win against UT Martin, May 23rd, 2017 which also saw him reach base in all four plate appearances thanks to being hit by a pitch twice.

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