May 16, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--The 2008 All-Ivy baseball team was announced on Friday, and two Bulldogs were unanimously named to the All-Ivy first team. Steve Gilman was selected as the first team relief pitcher, while Josh Cox earned first team All-Ivy honors in the outfield. In addition, four other Bulldogs were recognized by the league's head coaches. Starting pitcher Brian Irving, catcher Ryan Lavarnway and utility man Stefan Schropp were named second team All-Ivy, while P.J. Gorynski received an All-Ivy honorable mention nod as a utility player.

Gilman was the definition of a "lights-out" closer in 2008. The team captain, he went 4-0 with five saves and a 1.00 ERA in 17 appearances. He struck out 27 in 27 innings and allowed just three earned runs all season. Gilman didn't give up a run until April 2, his sixth game of the year, and didn't surrender an earned run until April 13. All four of Gilman's wins came in Ivy League play.

Josh Cox

Cox led the Ivy League with a school-record 72 hits. Cox also had a school-record 191 at-bats, hit a career-high .377 and belted a career-best 14 doubles. The Bulldogs' leadoff hitter, he finished second in the league with 21 stolen bases. His 13 stolen bases in conference games were tops in the Ivy League. He was the only Yale player to start all 45 games, starting every game in center field for the second consecutive season. Cox was an honorable mention All-Ivy choice last season.

Irving posted a 4-3 record and 3.86 ERA in nine starts, including a 3-1 mark in conference play. He led the Ivy League with 59 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. Irving was named Pitcher of the Week after striking out 12 Princeton hitters in a seven-inning complete game on April 5. He had 13 strikeouts in seven innings against George Washington in his first start of the season on March 2.

Lavarnway, a first team All-Ivy choice last season, hit a team-high .398 despite missing the last 11 games with an injury. He still led the Ivy League with 13 home runs, 42 total bases, 29 walks, a .541 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .824. Lavarnway was named Player of the Week three times and became the Ivy League's new all-time leader with 33 career home runs.

Schropp started games at five different positions in 2008. He hit .345 with 17 RBIs while making starts at first base, second base, third base and left field. Schropp also made four appearances on the mound, earning the win in Yale's 5-3 upset of then-No. 5 South Carolina on March 12.

Gorynski started the season as the team's second baseman before moving behind the plate following Lavarnway's injury. He hit .315 and tied for second on the team with seven home runs. Gorynski was third on the squad with 27 RBIs. He belted five home runs in Ivy League games, including a two-run, walk-off shot to cap a 7-6 comeback win over Harvard on April 13.

Ivy League champion Columbia had the most players selected to the All-Ivy teams. Eight Lions, including Player of the Year Henry Perkins and Rookie of the Year Nick Cox, were named All-Ivy. Rolfe Division winner Dartmouth had seven players named All-Ivy, led by Pitcher of the Year Russell Young.

Yale finished with a 20-24-1 record in 2008. The Bulldogs were second in the Rolfe Division with a 9-10-1 Ivy League mark.

2008 All-Ivy Baseball Team

Player of the Year: Henry Perkins, Columbia
Pitcher of the Year: Russell Young, Dartmouth
Rookie of the Year: *Nick Cox, Columbia

First Team
SP: *Russell Young, Dartmouth; John Baumann, Columbia
RP: *Steve Gilman, Yale
C: Jack Murphy, Princeton
1B: *Mike Pagliarulo, Dartmouth
2B: *Henry Perkins, Columbia
SS: *Erik Bell, Dartmouth
3B: *Spencer Lucian, Princeton
OF: *Josh Cox, Yale; *Damon Wright, Dartmouth; Nick Santomauro, Dartmouth
UT: Nathan Ford, Cornell
DH: Conor Reardon, Brown; Noah Cooper, Columbia
*-unanimous selection

Second Team
SP: Brian Irving, Yale; Joe Scarlata, Columbia
RP: Ryan Smith, Dartmouth
C: Ryan Lavarnway, Yale
1B: Adrian Turnham, Princeton
2B: Ryan Zrenda, Brown
SS: Dan Williams, Penn
3B: Mike Roberts, Columbia
OF: Steve Daniels, Brown; Jason Banos, Columbia; Nick Cox, Columbia; Domenic Di Ricco, Cornell
UT: Stefan Schropp, Yale

Honorable Mention
SP: Chase Carpenter, Dartmouth; Christian Staehely, Princeton
RP: Rob Hallberg, Brown
C: Dean Forthun, Columbia
2B: Steve Gable, Penn; Taylor Meehan, Harvard
SS: Matt Nuzzo, Brown; Dan DeGeorge, Princeton
OF: Nick Punal, Brown
UT: P.J. Gorynski, Yale
DH: Mickey Brodsky, Cornell

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity