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BASEBALL V SIUE | GAME 3 | COREY RAY

Five Louisville Players Selected as Perfect Game All-Americans

June 27, 2016 | Baseball

Ray receives first team honor; Harrington, McKay and Solak selected for second team and McClure named to third team

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Additional All-America honors were announced Monday for the Louisville baseball team as five players were named to a trio of teams by Perfect Game. Junior outfielder Corey Ray was selected for the first team, junior pitcher Drew Harrington, sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay and junior infielder Nick Solak were included on the second team and sophomore pitcher Kade McClure was honored on the third team.

Monday's announcement marked the sixth All-American awards this season for McKay and Ray (American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball.com and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association), the fourth for Harrington (Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball, NCBWA) and Solak (Baseball America, D1Baseball, NCBWA) and the second for McClure (NCBWA). Overall, seven different Louisville players earned All-America honors in 2016 (Zack Burdi, Devin Hairston), the highest single season total in school history.

An All-ACC First Team honoree for the second straight season, Ray closed 2016 with a .310 batting average, 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 55 runs scored. On June 9, Ray became the highest MLB Draft selection in school history going fifth overall to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago native finished second in the nation in stolen bases with 44 and started all 64 games for Louisville. During his three seasons at Louisville, Ray had a .318 batting average with 27 home runs, 133 RBI and 82 stolen bases in 172 games played, including 148 starts.

Chosen as the 2016 ACC Pitcher of the Year, Harrington closed the season with a 12-2 record, 1.95 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 17 starts and 110.2 innings pitched. A native of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Harrington limited opponents to two or fewer earned runs in 14 of his 17 outings. Selected in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves, Harrington was 8-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his 10 ACC starts.

A native of Darlington, Pennsylvania, McKay finished the season hitting .333 with six home runs, 41 RBI and 19 doubles at the plate, while going 12-4 with a 2.30 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 109.2 innings on the mound. Chosen to compete for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team for the second straight season, McKay was also selected as an All-ACC honoree for the second consecutive year as both a pitcher and utility player.

Solak had a .376 batting average, five home runs, 14 doubles, 29 RBI and 49 runs scored in 47 games this season. A native of Woodridge, Illinois, Solak finished with 28 walks and just 22 strikeouts and was selected in the second round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. An All-ACC honoree in 2016, Solak accumulated a .346 career average with 10 home runs, 94 RBI and 34 doubles in 136 collegiate starts for Louisville.

McClure turned in a dominant season and was a key component as the Cardinals went unbeaten in midweek games as the righthander finished 12-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 78.0 innings pitched, including 13 starts. A native of Mentor, Ohio, McClure closed his second collegiate season ranked in the top 10 nationally in wins, WHIP (0.88) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.65).

The Cardinals closed the 2016 season with a 50-14 record overall after winning their second straight ACC Atlantic Division championship, advancing to their fourth straight NCAA Super Regional and reaching the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in school history.

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