June 4, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech freshmen Derek Dietrich and Deck McGuire have been named to Louisville Slugger’s Freshmen All-American Baseball Team, as announced by Collegiate Baseball Wednesday afternoon.
Dietrich, a 6-1 shortstop, led the Yellow Jackets with 66 RBI while hitting .332 with 14 home runs and 16 doubles in his first season on the Flats. The Parma, Ohio native started every game at shortstop for Georgia Tech in 2008 and made one appearance off the mound as a relief pitcher. He was named the All-ACC second team shortstop after concluding the regular season ranked in the top-10 in the league in home runs, RBI and total bases and led all freshmen in the conference in the three categories.
McGuire, a 6-6 starting pitcher, led Georgia Tech with eight wins on the season, including two against the Yellow Jackets’ arch rival Georgia. He finished the season with an 8-1 record and led the Tech pitching staff with a 3.46 ERA in 78 innings pitched. A native of Richmond, Va., the freshman started postseason games against NC State (ACC Championships) and Lipscomb (NCAA Tournament) and held all opponents to a .240 batting average in his first season of college baseball.
Since his arrival in 1994, head coach Danny Hall has had 15 players tabbed to Freshman All-America teams, including Dietrich and McGuire this season. Only 27 players have been named Freshman All-Americans since Georgia Tech began playing baseball in 1895.
