Massi voted finalist for Brooks Wallace Award

MACON, Ga. (MERCER ATHLETICS RELEASE) – Senior Michael Massi was voted as one of just 16 finalists for the prestigious Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award as announced by the College Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday afternoon.

This is the first time that a Mercer player has been named a finalist for this award, which will be presented during the National College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions on June 28 in Lubbock, Texas.

Massi posted a .346 batting average this season and has been a key cog in Mercer’s lineup ranking in the top-10 in the Atlantic Sun Conference in several statistical categories including runs scored (T-3rd – 51), on-base percentage (6th – .427), total bases (6th – 105), hits (T-6th – 73) and walks (T-10th – 26).

The Powder Springs, Ga. native has also been stellar defensively for the Bears this season as he leads all 16 finalists with a .982 fielding percentage. Massi also leads the A-Sun Conference with 196 assists and just recently broke the Mercer single-season assist record of 187 set by Jeff Thompson in 1983.

This is the third major award Massi has received this week as he was named the A-Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Year and an A-Sun All-Conference first team selection on May 20.

Massi and the rest of the Bears were eliminated from the A-Sun Championship Thursday and now have to wait and see if they receive an at-large bid for the second-straight season to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The tournament selection show is scheduled for Monday, May 26, at noon on ESPNU.