Tuesday, November 28, 2006

HOUSTON, Texas - Three Atlantic Sun Conference hurlers landed on the 2007 Roger Clemens Award Watch List as announced by the Greater Houston Baseball Association. Jacksonville's Matt Dobbins, Stetson's Robbie Elsemiller and Belmont's Chris Manning are three of the 62 pitchers on the radar for the honor. The Clemens Award annually honors the top pitcher in college baseball. Only five conferences had more pitchers placed on the watch list than the Atlantic Sun.

Dobbins emerged as the ace of the Dolphins' staff and one of the top pitchers in the nation in 2006. After earning a no-decision against Georgia Southern on Feb. 7, he won eight consecutive games before having his streak snapped with a no-decision against North Florida on April 7. During his streak, Dobbins went 8-0 with a 1.46 ERA, 31 strikeouts and a .247 opponent batting average in 55.2 innings of work. He became the first Dolphin to win 10 games in a season since Dennis Robinson in 2004. Dobbins, a sociology major, also earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team honors last week after tallying a 3.74 grade point average as well as serving as the chair of the A-Sun SAAC.

Elsemiller ranked as one of the top closers in the nation last year after piling up 14 during his sophomore campaign with the Hatters. The right-handed closer finished second in the A-Sun and ninth nationally in saves, posting the fourth best single season total in conference history. Additionally, Elsemiller ranked second in ERA (2.56) and fifth in wins (7) while leading Stetson to their sixth regional apperance in the last seven years. The junior already ranks sixth in conference history and third in Stetson history with his 19 career saves.

Manning proved to be a surprise member of the list heading into his sophomore campaign at Belmont. Another right-handed closer, Manning posted 10 saves in his rookie campaign, the most ever by a freshman at Belmont. The Nashville native compiled a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and fanned at least one batter in 15 of his last 17 outings. Manning already ranks fifth in school history for career saves.

Previous winners of the Roger Clemens Award were Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004), Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005) and Andrew Miller of North Carolina (2006).

The finalists for the 2007 Roger Clemens Award will be selected in voting by a national panel that includes: all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, the 16 winners of the R. E. “Bob” Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country in Houston in 1988-2003. In addition, the 10 previous finalists for the Clemens Award are also issued ballots. The 2007 award will be presented at a gala dinner next July.

The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a major leaguer, Clemens has won 348 games (eighth best in history), fanned more than 4,600 hitters and won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.

The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, which has donated more than $300,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first three dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.