Trimble, Ethridge Earn Freshman All-America Honors by Baseball America
7/8/2021 12:36:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss outfielder Reed Trimble (Brandon, Miss.) and right-handed starting pitcher Ben Ethridge (Collinsville, Miss.) collected Freshman All-America honors by Baseball America in an announcement by the publication Thursday morning.
Trimble earned second-team honors, while Ethridge was a member of third team.
For Trimble, it marked his third Freshman All-America award this spring, while Ethridge added his first. Following the shortened 2020 season, though, Ethridge also earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
As a first-team All-Conference USA selection as well as All-Freshman team pick following the regular season, Trimble added Freshman All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The NCBWA also included him as a second-team All-American, while Perfect Game/Rawlings chose him for their third team. The American Baseball Coaches Association also tabbed Trimble second-team All-South Region.
Those awards for Trimble came after tying for the team lead in batting average at .345, while holding the top spots on the squad with 17 home runs and 72 RBI as well as compiling 12-of-14 stolen base attempts. His RBI total ranked tied for first in the country with Andy Garriola of Old Dominion. His other numbers included 14 doubles and two triples, while registering a .414 on-base percentage and a team-high .638 slugging percentage as he played in 59 of the team's 61 contests.
Trimble finished his year with a 12-game hitting streak, posting a .475 batting average (28x59) with four doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI. He ended his season by reaching base in each of the last 22 games – the longest by any Golden Eagle player in 2021.
For Ethridge, who earned All-Conference USA second team honors as well as a spot on the league's All-Freshman team, he put together a 6-2 record with a 3.25 ERA in 14 starts for the Golden Eagles.
Ethridge walked only 13 batters in 74 2/3 innings of work with 82 strikeouts. He won three-straight starts at one point by providing seven shutout innings in each of those starts resulting in victories over WKU (4/24), Rice (5/1) and Middle Tennessee (5/8). He earned Conference USA Pitcher of the Week following the WKU outing as he allowed three hits and no walks in the seven-inning complete game with a career-high 11 strikeouts.
He went six or more innings in eight of his starts during the campaign and now nine times overall in his career as he led the team with two complete-game shutouts.
The duo helped Southern Miss rank as one of nine programs with two or more players to hold a spot on one of Baseball America's three teams. UCI led the way with three, while Arizona, Campbell, Cal Poly, LSU, Mississippi State, UCSB and Vanderbilt each had two along with the Golden Eagles.
Trimble and Ethridge became the first Golden Eagle freshman honored by this publication since Matt Wallner received a first-team nod in 2017 and marks the first time a pair of Golden Eagles were selected for Baseball America's postseason teams in the same season.
Trimble earned second-team honors, while Ethridge was a member of third team.
For Trimble, it marked his third Freshman All-America award this spring, while Ethridge added his first. Following the shortened 2020 season, though, Ethridge also earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
As a first-team All-Conference USA selection as well as All-Freshman team pick following the regular season, Trimble added Freshman All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The NCBWA also included him as a second-team All-American, while Perfect Game/Rawlings chose him for their third team. The American Baseball Coaches Association also tabbed Trimble second-team All-South Region.
Those awards for Trimble came after tying for the team lead in batting average at .345, while holding the top spots on the squad with 17 home runs and 72 RBI as well as compiling 12-of-14 stolen base attempts. His RBI total ranked tied for first in the country with Andy Garriola of Old Dominion. His other numbers included 14 doubles and two triples, while registering a .414 on-base percentage and a team-high .638 slugging percentage as he played in 59 of the team's 61 contests.
Trimble finished his year with a 12-game hitting streak, posting a .475 batting average (28x59) with four doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI. He ended his season by reaching base in each of the last 22 games – the longest by any Golden Eagle player in 2021.
For Ethridge, who earned All-Conference USA second team honors as well as a spot on the league's All-Freshman team, he put together a 6-2 record with a 3.25 ERA in 14 starts for the Golden Eagles.
Ethridge walked only 13 batters in 74 2/3 innings of work with 82 strikeouts. He won three-straight starts at one point by providing seven shutout innings in each of those starts resulting in victories over WKU (4/24), Rice (5/1) and Middle Tennessee (5/8). He earned Conference USA Pitcher of the Week following the WKU outing as he allowed three hits and no walks in the seven-inning complete game with a career-high 11 strikeouts.
He went six or more innings in eight of his starts during the campaign and now nine times overall in his career as he led the team with two complete-game shutouts.
The duo helped Southern Miss rank as one of nine programs with two or more players to hold a spot on one of Baseball America's three teams. UCI led the way with three, while Arizona, Campbell, Cal Poly, LSU, Mississippi State, UCSB and Vanderbilt each had two along with the Golden Eagles.
Trimble and Ethridge became the first Golden Eagle freshman honored by this publication since Matt Wallner received a first-team nod in 2017 and marks the first time a pair of Golden Eagles were selected for Baseball America's postseason teams in the same season.
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