University of Connecticut Athletics
Three Huskies named to All-New England Teams
5/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
STORRS, CT (May 28) - Three members of the University of Connecticut baseball team were named to All-New England Baseball Teams, as announced by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Coaches Association late Friday afternoon.
Junior Brett Burnham (South Windsor, CT) was named to the 2002 All-New England Baseball First Team while seniors Cy Hess (Oakdale, CT) and Jon Gorrie (Northboro, MA) were named to the 2002 All-New England Baseball Second Team. The trio will participate in the NEIBCA’s 28th annual All-Start Game at Fenway Park on Thursday, May 30, at noon. In the past, major league players Jeff Bagwell (Hartford), Gary DiSarcina (UMass), Mark Sweeney (Maine), Charles Nagy (UConn) and Ron Villone (UMass) have appeared in the game.
After transferring to UConn after two years at Auburn, Burnham made an immediate impact with the Huskies in his first season. The starting second baseman at the start of the season, Burnham moved over to short after an injury to Mike Mocerino and didn’t skip a beat. He played in all 50 games while batting a career-best .335 and driving in a team-best 49 runs. He also clubbed six home runs, scored 47 runs and was hit by pitch a UConn record 32 times, only one shy of the NCAA mark. In the field, Burnham committed only seven errors in 233 chances while helping to turn 24 double plays.
Hess, also named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team earlier in the week, enjoyed a breakout season as the Huskies’ unanimous selection as team captain. Having never before hit above .300 his previous three seasons, Hess finished second on the team in batting with a .366 average while slamming a team and career-best 11 home runs. He finished the season with 67 hits, 53 runs scored, 46 RBI, a team-high 35 walks and 10 stolen bases. In addition to playing a solid center field (three errors in 129 chances), Hess hit safely in 42 of 46 games played and had a 25-game hitting streak, the longest streak by a UConn batter in recent memory.
Gorrie, an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection last season, was UConn’s leadoff man this season and led the team in at bats (198), runs scored (59) and stolen bases (31 in 36 attempts). His stolen base total tied for the third-best single season effort in the UConn record books and pushed him to fourth place in the career stolen bases category with 55. While starting and playing in 49 games, Gorrie batted .348 for the season and racked up a career-best 69 hits, including eight doubles, a triple, a home run and 29 RBI. In 39 games at first base, he committed only four errors in 321 chances.
The Huskies finished the 2002 season with a 28-22-0 overall record and a 13-12-0 mark in the BIG EAST.
