HOME OF BULLDOG BASEBALL - 10 SCIAC Championships

The University of Redlands baseball team landed senior pitcher Nolan Nicholson (Fullerton, CA), junior catcher Jefre Johnson (Canby, OR) and senior first baseman Matt Goldstein (Lincoln, CA) on the All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Second Team, according to an announcement made today by the conference office.

Nicholson graced the All-Conference teams for the third time in his collegiate career, serving as the Bulldogs' staff ace. He notched four conference wins while compiling a 4.62 ERA. A regular on the mound for the Bulldogs, Nicholson tossed 39 innings and also started in all six SCIAC games in which he appeared. He held conference hitters to a .295 batting average while striking out 17. This All-SCIAC nomination comes on the heels of his second consecutive ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team selection, which was also announced today.

As the team’s starting catcher, Johnson posted a remarkable .992 fielding percentage in conference games, notching 95 putouts and 28 assists. At the plate, he accrued a .353 batting average in SCIAC contests, raking in 23 hits. He touched a team-high 41 total bases in conferences games, boasting a .594 slugging percentage. A power hitter, Johnson swatted five home runs in SCIAC play, which included a two-homer outing in the third game of the team’s opening conference series against Occidental College. Last year, he received First-Team All-SCIAC honors.

Ranking second on the team in steals, Goldstein redefined the image of a protypical first baseman, going 9-for-9 in steal attempts in conference games. SCIAC pitchers struggled to find an answer for him as he boasted a .400 batting average on a team-high 30 hits, which led all regular Bulldog starters. He had a knack for reaching base as he also paced the Redlands starters with a .430 on-base percentage. This is the first All-SCIAC honor of Goldstein’s four-year collegiate career.

Redlands (25-15, 14-7 SCIAC) has finished its regular season and awaits a potential at-large bid into the NCAA Championships. The Bulldogs ranked third in the SCIAC standings at the conference season's end.

The eight conference head coaches vote on the All-SCIAC teams at their end-of-the-year meeting.

A complete list of All-SCIAC honorees can be found at http://www.thesciac.org/sports/bsb/2008-09/news/2009_allsciac_baseball.