Fresno State outfielder Dusty Robinson, Hawai?i outfielder Kolten Wong, Nevada designated hitter Nick Melino and Sacramento State pitcher Jesse Darrah have been named to the Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team, as announced by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Robinson hit .319 with 15 home runs, 12 doubles and 45 RBIs during his freshman campaign. He appeared in 60 games starting 52 in left field for the Bulldogs. Robinson hit a walk off home run in the tenth inning against New Mexico State on April 10 to win the 2009 WAC opener. The outfielder is the first Bulldogs to earn freshman All-American honors since 2005, when Beau Mills was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.
Wong started all 58 games for the ’Bows in centerfield in 2009, batting .341 with 11 home runs, 21 doubles, two triples, 52 RBI, 46 runs and 11 stolen bases. Along with his prowess at the plate, Wong also led the team with seven outfield assists. The Hilo, Hawai`i, native earned Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors, batting a team-high .424 in conference games. He was also a first-team all-WAC honoree. During the season, the Kamehameha-Hawai`i graduate put his name in the UH record book on a couple occasions. Wong hit three home runs vs. Loyola Marymount (Mar. 12), tying the school’s single-game home run record while becoming the first Rainbow to ever post three long balls in a home game. Later in the year, Wong posted a 16-game hitting streak from Apr. 4 to Apr. 30, the seventh-longest in school history.
Melino, the first-team All-WAC designated hitter, led the Pack with a .352 average and scored 28 runs, collected 15 doubles, two triples, four home runs and drove home 39. In the Fresno State series he exploded offensively hitting .533(8-for-15) with seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 14 RBI. In the first game at FS he was 3-for-4, with three runs scored, hit two home runs and drove in eight then went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, hit a double, a home run and drove in four in the second game of the doubleheader giving him 12 RBI and three home runs on Saturday.
Darrah posted a 9-2 record with a 5.64 ERA during his first season in the Green and Gold, becoming the team's first Freshman All-American during the Division I era (1990-present). Darrah became the first Hornet to amass nine wins since Ethan Katz, who accomplished the feat in 2005. He is also the first Hornet freshman to collect eight victories during the team’s Division I era. Darrah also threw a team-leading 83.0 innings, and collected 59 strikeouts on the season. During one stretch of the season, Darrah won five straight starts, and after starting the year 1-2, he did not lose a decision after March 7. In conference play, Darrah was 4-0, and left two additional conference games with leads, although he did not end up factoring in the decision.