May 30, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - For the second straight season, Villanova (29-25) claimed at least a share of the Philadelphia Big Five Baseball Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year awards. Among the honorees announced on Tuesday, junior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) was named Player of the Year along with Sean Barksdale of Temple and senior Mike Loree (Gillette, Pa.) was voted Pitcher of the Year along with Todd Roth from Penn. Also earning top accolades was junior first baseman Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), who was named the Student-Athlete of the Year. The trio of players was joined on the All-Big Five team by senior Jim Gillin (Broomall, Pa.).

In all, four different Wildcat players earned recognition for their accomplishments this season. Behind a potent lineup and strong pitching staff, Villanova finished with at least a .500 record for the fifth time in the last six years and qualified for the BIG EAST Championship for the first time since 1997.

Shunk led the team offensively for the entire season, batting .357 with a .444 on-base percentage and a .471 slugging percentage. He collected 75 hits and also led the team with 49 runs scored, 12 doubles and 29 walks. Shunk was named a Player of the Year and also was voted as the All-Big Five shortstop along with Ryan Weber from Temple. During the 2007 season, Shunk recorded his 200th career hit and moved into eighth place in school history with 205 career hits. He had a 12-game hitting streak early in the season during which he batted .558 (29-for-52) and was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 12. Shunk was also a third team All-BIG EAST selection and ranked among the league's top-10 in batting average.

On the mound, Loree did everything that could be expected of a senior staff ace. He went 7-4 in his 14 starts, matching the most wins in a single season by a Villanova pitcher in the last 11 years. He logged a single-season school record 99.0 innings pitched and pitched to a 4.00 ERA while allowing just 27 walks and striking out 54. Loree made eight quality starts and allowed three earned runs or less 10 times. Among his victories was a 1-0, four-hit shutout over Louisville in the team's BIG EAST opener, marking the first complete-game shutout for a Wildcat pitcher since 2003. Loree also broke the school and BIG EAST career innings pitched records and finished his career tied for third in school history in victories and fourth in strikeouts. Loree was named the Big Five Pitcher of the Week three times during the season and earned a spot on the BIG EAST weekly honor roll four times. He was named to the All-BIG EAST second team.

Terpak was named to the All-Big Five team at first base in addition to earning the top academic honor. On the field, he batted .307 for the year with a team-high eight home runs and 48 runs batted in. Terpak also led the squad with six triples and a .532 slugging percentage while totaling 24 extra-base hits. He led the BIG EAST in triples and came into his own as the season wore on, leading the team in hitting during BIG EAST games with a .321 average. In the classroom, Terpak carries a 3.73 GPA as a Finance major and was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team.

Gillin was named to the All-Big Five team at catcher along with La Salle's Rich Prall. He started 45 games behind the plate and batted .281 for the season with five home runs and 35 runs batted in. Gillin ranked second on the squad in home runs and RBI and struck out just 27 times in 189 at-bats. He walked 18 times and had a .366 on-base percentage hitting in the middle of the lineup, while also contributing to the team's small-ball style offense with six sacrifice bunts and a team-high six sacrifice flies.

Penn's Todd Roth also earned Rookie of the Year honors, while head coach John Cole was named the Coach of the Year. The Quakers were named the Team of the Year after winning the Ivy League Gehrig Division Championship.