Abraham, Putnam Earn Freshman All-America Honors
6/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
TUCSON, Ariz. -- University of Michigan true freshmen Adam Abraham (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./South HS) and Zach Putnam (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) were named to the 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team as selected by Collegiate Baseball for their first-year performances for the Big Ten champion Wolverines.
Abraham, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament won by the Wolverines, was named as a two-position player to the Freshman All-America team. He played in 52 games and was 5-3 with three saves in 20 pitching appearances and hit .304 with seven doubles, six home runs and 31 runs batted in. Abraham made 32 starts as U-M's designated hitter and also made starts in the outfield (13) and at third base (2) during the 2006 season.
Putnam was a second team All-Big Ten starting pitcher in his first season as a Wolverine as he had a 6-2 record with a 2.51 earned run average in 57.1 innings.
Abraham, who had a win and save and while hitting .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles and a homer in Big Ten Tournament action, earned All-Big Ten regular-season honors as the third team designated hitter. Abraham had five game-winning RBI, with three of the gamers coming in the last two weeks of the conference season.
Abraham's two-out, two-strike single in extra innings beat Iowa 1-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on May 20 to clinch a share of Michigan's first Big Ten regular-season title since 1997.
In the second game of that May 20 doubleheader it was Putnam's turn as he beat Iowa in the third game of the series to clinch the outright Big Ten championship for the Wolverines and the right to host the Big Ten Tournament. Putnam was 4-1 with a save in his seven Big Ten appearances with a 1.88 ERA.
N O T E S
The selection of Abraham and Putnam to the 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team gives the Wolverines three Freshman All-Americans on the current roster. Sophomore 1B Nate Recknagel (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion), who led the Wolverines in hitting with a .372 (81-for-218) average, was a member of the 2005 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team while he was at Oakland University. Recknagel was the second team All-Big Ten first baseman this season and was an all-tournament selection in both the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Atlanta Regional.
Fifth-year senior LHP Drew Taylor (Toronto, Ontario/Upper Canada College), who was 6-4 with a 4.94 ERA in 2006 and finished his Michigan career with 19 wins, signed a free agent contract with the Toronto Blue Jays following the conclusion of the 2006 Major League First-Year Player Draft.
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
