May 19, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF baseball had a quartet of Central Florida natives selected to the Conference USA postseason teams the league office announced Tuesday. Senior Brandon Romans (Cocoa, Fla.) and junior Shane Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) were voted onto the All-C-USA Second Team, while freshmen Beau Taylor (Rockledge, Fla.) and D.J. Hicks (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) were given spots on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
The accolades for Brown and Romans marked the first time in their careers they were tabbed for the C-USA postseason teams.
The awards were handed out a day before the C-USA Championship begins in Hattiesburg, Miss. The No. 8 seed Knights will square off with No. 1 seed East Carolina Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET at Pete Taylor Park. Head to UCFAthletics.com and C-USA.org for more tournament coverage, or check out 740-AM for live broadcasts of every UCF postseason game.
Romans is having a career year in his third and final season with the Knights. The outfielder has played in 51 games with 50 starts, boasting a .328 average with 61 hits, 39 runs, nine doubles and team-highs of 14 homers and 47 RBI. Those 14 dingers rank in a tie for the sixth-most in UCF single-season history. He also lays claim to a .602 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage, walking 25 times and striking out on just 15 occasions.
Brown continues to pace all UCF hitters in several key categories, posting a .345 average, 71 hits and 20 doubles. He also has accumulated 39 runs, 44 RBI, 109 total bases, a .432 on-base percentage and 15 hit by pitches. Brown was named the national hitter of the week by three organizations for tying the NCAA record of 18-straight times on base April 21-24. The junior has played several positions as well, including third base, the corner outfield spots and most recently second base.
In their first years at the collegiate level, Taylor and Hicks really took off when the Knights began their C-USA regular-season schedule, and now are everyday starters in the UCF lineup. Taylor has offensive and defensive numbers that rival all of the top catchers in the league, notching a .338 average with 53 hits, 14 doubles, four homers, 28 runs and 23 RBI. He owns a .980 fielding percentage and leads all league backstops with 23 runners caught stealing. In C-USA games alone, Taylor hit .371 with a .573 slugging percentage.
A two-way player that has found his rhythm both at the plate and on the mound, Hicks has stepped up to serve as UCF's designated hitter and a primary reliever out of the pen. He is batting .299 while collecting nine doubles, seven homers and 31 RBI. Hicks also set a school record with six runs scored at UAB April 24. Toeing the rubber, he has a 6.84 ERA, a 4-5 record and three saves in 50.0 innings.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
UCF Baseball's C-USA Postseason Awards
All-Academic Team (announced Monday)
Kiko Vazquez, Sr., 1B
All-C-USA Second Team
Shane Brown, Jr., 2B
Brandon Romans, Sr., OF
C-USA All-Freshman Team
Beau Taylor, Fr., C
D.J. Hicks, Fr., DH/UTIL