Close Named to ECAC All-Star Team
6/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Liberty senior Alex Close has been named to the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I All-Star team. The squad was announced by the ECAC, this afternoon.
Close was selected by representatives from ECAC Division I member institutions to the second team as a utility player. A utility player plays multiple positions. Close saw action at first base and catcher in the field and also pitched for the Flames, this past season.
With Close's selection to the ECAC All-Star team, the Flames have had a player named to the team in each of the last four seasons. Second baseman Ryan Seiz was selected to the squad last season, catcher Trey Wimmer was named to the team in 2013 and outfielder Ian Parmley was voted to the team in 2012.
Close hit .342 with 46 RBI and 40 runs scored in his final season at Liberty, which finished 33-23 overall in 2015. The two-way player collected 13 doubles, seven home runs and 113 total bases, while posting a .422 on base percentage and a .516 slugging percentage. He led the Flames in batting average, hits, doubles, slugging percentage and on base percentage. In addition, the first baseman led Liberty with 25 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI contests, while reaching base in a team-high 39 consecutive games.
The Hoover, Ala., native made 18 relief appearances as pitcher, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.21 ERA and a team-leading six saves.
For the second straight season, Close earned Big South All-Conference first team honors as an infielder, ranking among the league leaders in several offensive categories. The two-way player finished the year among the Big South leaders in batting average (8th), hits (8th), home runs (10th), RBI (7th) and total bases (7th).
Close was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball first team for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Liberty baseball in program history to be selected to the academic team multiple times. He also was selected as the 2015 Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award, honoring the top graduating senior student-athlete at Liberty.
A four-year starter for the Flames, Close hit .298 and scored 140 runs in 228 games during his Flames' career. The first baseman completed his career third in hits (258), fourth in home runs (33), tied for fourth in RBI (166) and 10th in doubles (47).
