Thompson earns second First-Team selection of season

ABCA All-America Teams (PDF)

RINDGE, N.H. (June 2, 2011) – Sophomore right-hander Ryan Thompson (Calgary, Alberta) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been selected to the All-America First Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association, as announced by the ABCA. In addition, junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) was named to the All-America Third team.

For Thompson, it is the second All-America First Team selection of the year, as he also earned the honor from the NCBWA earlier this week. For Dowd, it is his second career All-America honor, as he was named an Honorable Mention by Daktronics after his freshman season in 2009.

In his first year on the mound for the Ravens after transferring from the University of Connecticut, Thompson has put up numbers among the nation's best in 2011. Through May 24, his 1.23 earned-run average was good for fifth in the country. In addition, Thompson ranks eighth in the country in strikeouts (114), 19th in hits allowed per nine innings (5.97), 20th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.23) and 22nd in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8). His 11-1 record has him tied for 8th in the country in wins. Earlier this spring, Thompson was the consensus East Region Pitcher of the Year and a consensus All-East Region First team selection, as he earned both honors from the NCBWA, the ABCA and Daktronics. Before that, he was pegged as Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year and was an All-Northeast-10 First Team selection. Thompson is a finalist for College Baseball Lineup's Tino Martinez Division II Player of the Year Award and was selected to the inaugural CBL DII All-Star Team. Furthermore, he was an NEIBA All-Star Team selection.

Dowd wrapped up the 2011 season as one of the toughest batters to strike out in the country. He struck out just 10 times in 202 at-bats, or once every 20.3 at-bats, which was good for 10th in the country through May 24. In addition, Dowd ranks in the top five in the Northeast-10 in batting average (.342), hits (69), doubles (17) and total bases (101). Earlier this spring, he was selected to the All-East Region First Team by both the ABCA and Daktronics, in addition to an East Region Gold Glove honor from the ABCA. In addition, Dowd was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team and earned a spot on the NEIBA All-Star Team.

The Ravens wrapped up the 2011 campaign at 40-14, reaching the 40-win plateau for the second year in a row and the fifth time in program history, all in the last six years. Franklin Pierce hosted NCAA Regional play for the sixth time in school history, all in the last seven years.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).