May 26, 2009

Irvine, Calif. - The Big West Conference announced its 2009 All-Conference selections on Tuesday, May 26, as voted on by the coaches, and five players from the Pacific baseball team shared the honors.

Sophomore outfielder Nick Longmire (San Diego, Calif.) led all players as Pacific's only First Team Big West All-Conference player. Sharing second team acclaim are senior catcher Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.), junior third baseman Mike Walker (Marysville, Calif.), sophomore second baseman J.B. Brown (Alvin, Texas) and senior utility Joey Centanni (San Diego, Calif.).

The Tigers as a unit finished seventh in the Big West Conference's field of nine teams with a 9-15 league record as well as a 21-32 overall mark. It was the best finish in both conference and overall since 2006.

Longmire finished out his 2009 campaign leading all Pacific players with a .385 batting average that was only bettered by two other players in conference. His .596 slugging percentage was fourth-best in the Big West and the sophomore finished the season with a 17-game hitting streak that will carry into 2010. Longmire also tied fellow Tiger Brown with 84 hits this season, as the conference's second-best mark all year. He also finished second with six triples and led the Big West in total bases (130). This was the second all-conference award of Longmire's career with Pacific.

Wideman had an extremely successful senior year, shattering Pacific's all-time single season doubles mark. He registered 24 in 2009, tying for first place in the Big West Conference with Cal State Fullerton's Khris Davis. Kurt finished sixth in the Big West's top-10 sluggers with a stellar .572 slugging percentage and rounded out the top 10 in batting average (.351) and total bases (111). Defensively Wideman recorded one of Pacific's highest fielding percentages with a .987.

In his third season with Pacific, Walker provided spectacular defense at third base, but was an even stronger threat at the plate. Mike recorded a final .345 batting average in 197 at-bats with Pacific in 2009, which was good for fifth-best on the team. Walker also tied Longmire for the second most home runs on Pacific's line-up with six in 2009, that helped contribute to his team fourth-best .497 slugging percentage.

Another strong offensive producer came for Pacific in the other sophomore, Brown. J.B. led the Tigers in several categories including a tie with Longmire for hits (84), home runs (7), at-bats (222), RBI (58) and the team's longest hitting streak. Brown hit in 49 of Pacific's 53 games this season, including a 20-game hitting streak. He completed the 2009 season on an active 12-game hitting streak that will also continue into 2010.

And rounding out the field for Pacific was Centanni, who starred as the Tigers' ace on the pitching staff, designated hitter, outfielder and first baseman to earn the second and final All-Big West Conference honor of his career. He was also a vital player in the batters' box, helping to advance runners in a number of situations as Centanni led the squad in both sacrifice flies (6) and bunts (11), which placed him in fifth and third place, respectively, among the Big West's top 10 hitters. Centanni finished up the year with Pacific's fourth-best batting average, hitting .347 with a .415 on base percentage. Joey also notched the second most stolen bases in 2009, going 7-for-12 on the base paths. As a pitcher, he recorded the team's second-best ERA with a 4.82 mark and led the staff in wins (5), complete games (3), strikeouts (44) and innings pitched (99.0).

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