UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 23, 2006 - Senior outfielder Lance Thompson and senior starting pitcher Alan Stidfole of the Penn State baseball team were named to the All-Big Ten baseball teams, which were announced on Tuesday morning by the Big Ten Conference office. Thompson was named to the second team while Stidfole was named to the third team, his second straight year as an All-Big Ten selection. Additionally, sophomore shortstop/relief pitcher Scott Gaffney was named as Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Thompson wrapped up his Penn State career as one of the finest players to ever wear the Penn State uniform. He ended his career with 217 career hits, fifth on the all-time list, and with 47 career doubles, good for a tie for fourth on the PSU career list. He led the team this year in batting average (.362), at bats (213), hits (77), doubles (16), RBI (45), total bases (109), and slugging percentage (.512). He was also second on the team in home runs and on-base percentage and he also started every game for the second straight season. He started the last 113 games of his career and ended with a .337 career batting average. Also a standout in the classroom, Thompson was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II selection earlier this month and will graduate this summer with a degree in Life Science, in which he currently has a 3.41 gpa. Stidfole was named to the All-Big Ten third team for the second consecutive year. The left-handed pitcher who was Penn State's Friday starter for the entire year wrapped up 2006 with a 3-5 record and a 4.06 ERA, about half a run lower than his ERA from last year. He ended his career with 11 wins and 186 career strikeouts. This year, his 76 K's were second on the team and fourth in the Big Ten. His 14 starts this year also rank in a tie for second all-time for a single season at Penn State. Stidfole was a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week this year after pitching a complete game and allowing only one run in a win over Northwestern, which finished second in the conference. In his career, he garnered weekly Pitcher of the Week honors three times. Gaffney, a sophomore shortstop and relief pitcher, was Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. One student-athlete from each school in each Big Ten sponsored sport is selected for this award and student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. Each of the 10 selected student-athletes for baseball are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year. Gaffney started all but one of Penn State's games this year and ended with a .288 batting average after hitting over .300 for most of the year. His 60 hits were tied for third on the team and he also made two relief pitching appearances, picking up a win in one game and a save in the other.
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