BASEBALL'S VERLANDER HONORED AGAIN

Old Dominion University freshman righthander Justin Verlander of Goochland, Va., has been selected first team Freshman All-American by Baseball America. The CAA Rookie of the Year was selected for the same honor earlier in the month by Collegiate Baseball News.

The 6-4, 195-pounder led the CAA with a 1.90 earned run average. He ranked second in the league with 137 strikeouts in 113.2 innings. He had eight complete games and was involved in all four Monarch shutouts.

Verlander fanned 10 or more batters five times, including an ODU record 17 in a 2-0 victory over James Madison. His season strikeout total is second highest in ODU history and third in CAA history. Opponents hit only.207 against him and only 15 of the 83 hits he gave up were for extra bases. He averaged 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, catching 53 batters looking.

Verlander earned a tryout with the USA National squad in June, but was not selected to the final 22-man squad. In two outings at the tryouts, Verlander pitched six innings, allowed nine hits, two runs, three walks and struck out nine batters.