MORAGA, Calif. - Freshman Tyler Thornton made the record books on Monday: the right-hander is just the second baseball player in Saint Mary's history to be selected to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp roster. The last was Von Hayes in 1979.
After a record and accolade-laden regular season campaign, Thornton will head to the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina where he will compete for a spot on the 26-man roster. The camp will consist of four intrasquad exhibition contests and a game against the Coastal Plain League. The final roster will take on Cuba, Chinese Taipei, and Japan over the summer.
Thornton earned the prestigious invitation as he is one of the top freshmen pitchers in the nation. He has amassed a 9-2 record in 12 starts (70.1 innings pitched) and his 2.56 earned run average is the lowest of any starter on the team. He is ranked 11th in the country and first in the West Coast Conference in hits allowed per nine innings (5.37) and his nine wins are tied for the 12th-most in the nation (first in the WCC). Along with teammate Carlos Lomeli (also nine wins), he has collected the most wins by any Gael pitcher since Martin Agosta's nine favorable decision in 2012 (fourth-most since 1968).
Thornton's 10.88 strikeouts per nine are ranked third in the WCC and his WHIP of 0.97 is also third in the conference (28th in the nation). The San Diego native has twice been named the WCC Pitcher of the Week and both times were in a span of three weeks. Furthermore, he went on a streak earlier this season of three starts without allowing an earned run (22.1 innings in total), allowing just six hits during that time while striking out 26 batters.
Thornton and rest of his teammates will head to Stockton this week to compete as the No. 3 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament.