Kentucky relief pitchers Sean Hjelle and Justin Lewis, who combined for six wins and all 12 of the team’s saves during the 2016 season, have been named Freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
Hjelle (pronounced same as “jelly”), a righthander from White Bear Lake, Minn., compiled a 4-1 record, eight saves and a 3.74 earned-run average. All four of his wins came against Southeastern Conference opponents – Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina. His season was highlighted by his performance against the Gamecocks, when he threw the final four innings of UK’s 12-inning victory over the nation’s No. 2-ranked team. Four of his eight saves came vs. league opponents.
Lewis, a righthander from Suwanee, Ga., went 2-0 on the year with four saves. His final three saves came in consecutive appearances against USC Upstate, Georgia and Florida, with superb performances against the SEC foes. He tossed four shutout innings to get a save at Georgia and went the final 3.1 innings to notch a save vs. the No. 1-ranked Gators.
This marks the second time that Kentucky has had two Freshman All-Americans in the same year, as outfielder Austin Cousino and pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed were both selected in 2012.
For more information on the Kentucky baseball team, follow @UKBaseball on Twitter and Facebook or visit UKathletics.com.
Tony Neely
Asst. AD / Media Relations
University of Kentucky Athletics
UK Baseball’s Hjelle & Lewis Named Freshman All-Americans
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