Matthews Earns All-BIG EAST Baseball Honors
May 20 | Baseball
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Rutgers freshman first baseman Jaren Matthews (Teaneck, N.J.) earned All-BIG EAST Third Team honors, it was announced at the league's annual postseason awards banquet in Clearwater Florida on Monday evening. The All-BIG EAST accolades are determined by the league's 12 head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for representatives from their own team.
Matthews was one of two Scarlet Knights to start every game in 2008, finishing the season with a team-best 10 home runs and 54 RBI. He hit .294 overall with a team-best 63 hits, including 11 doubles and two triples. The true freshman also posted 21 walks and was successful in eight of his nine stolen base attempts this season. Matthews' RBI total was tied for seventh-most in the BIG EAST, while his home run total was tied for ninth-most in the conference. In league play, the freshman was tied for the BIG EAST lead with 30 RBI. He tied for second in the league with seven home runs and ranked 11th with a .570 slugging percentage during conference action. Matthews was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 31 after hitting .412 with a .882 slugging percentage in five games. He collected three doubles, a triple and a home run, while scoring 10 runs during the span.
Rutgers completed its 2008 season 23-29-1 overall and 11-16 in the BIG EAST to finish ninth in the conference.
