Dragani, Franklin Named to Perfect Game Freshman All-America Teams
6/14/2018 1:35:00 PM | Baseball
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Two members of the University of Michigan baseball team earned selections to the Perfect Game Freshman All-America Teams, the organization announced Thursday (June 14). Left-handed pitcher Ben Dragani and first-baseman Jesse Franklin both earned selections to the second team.
A native of Brookfield, Wisconsin, Dragani started his career with the Wolverines in a relief role before breaking into the starting rotation in mid-March and becoming Michigan's Saturday starter. Through 16 appearances, which included 11 starts, the lefty finished the season with six wins at a team-low 2.76 earned-run average. He struck out 54 batters through 75.0 innings pitched and was named to the All-Big Ten third team and freshman team.
In his debut season with the Maize and Blue, Franklin led the Wolverines with 10 home runs and 47 RBI on the season, which ranked in the top-10 in the Big Ten Conference. Through 47 games played, the Seattle, Washington, native posted a .327 batting average and a team-best .588 slugging percentage to go with a .379 on-base percentage. He finished second on the team with 54 hits and totaled 11 doubles and a triple along with a team-leading seven sacrifice flies as well as four stolen bases. He also earned a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten freshman team.
Including Dragani and Franklin, the Big Ten Conference had four selections to the Perfect Game Freshman All-America teams. Minnesota pitchers Patrick Frederickson and Max Meyer were the other honorees from the league.
Dragani and Franklin also earned selections to the Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-America teams, while Franklin was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Freshman All-America Second Team. The Michigan baseball program has now had 35 Freshman All-America selections since 1983.
