Feb. 12, 2008
University Park, Pa. - Head baseball coach Robbie Wine today announced that three members of the 2008 team have been named team captains for the 2008 season. Fifth-year seniors Joe Blackburn and Brian Ernst and fellow senior Paul Hawkins have been named the team captains for the 2008 Nittany Lion baseball squad. The senior trio will be the first team captains for the baseball program under head coach Robbie Wine, who did not name any team captains during his first three years as head coach. Wine, entering his fourth season as the skipper of the Nittany Lions, and Penn State will open their 2008 season just over a week from today on Friday, February 22 at High Point.
"We are pleased to announce our team captains for the 2008 baseball team. Joe Blackburn, Paul Hawkins and Brian Ernst represent what being a Penn State student-athlete and a member of our baseball program is all about," said Wine. "They have earned the respect of the coaching staff and their teammates for their hard work both on and off the field. They are not only quality baseball players but excel in the classroom and are good citizens. Our captains will be an extension of the coaching staff and provide additional leadership for our squad."
Blackburn, native of Sinking Spring, Pa., will be the team's starting catcher this year after getting the majority of the playing time at catcher last year, his second year back after Tommy John surgery on his elbow during the 2005 season, of which he played in only 10 games before suffering his season-ending injury and being awarded a medical redshirt. Last year, he led the Nittany Lions in hitting at .347, doubles with 15, triples with 5 as well as RBI, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and he was also second on the team in hits. He was a third team All-Big Ten selection last year and this year was named preseason All-Big Ten by Rivals.com. He will be one of the top catchers in the Big Ten this year and should be a candidate for several postseason awards. Possessing well over a 3.0 gpa, Blackburn, who is majoring in secondary education, will graduate this spring.
Ernst is also a dual threat, both on the field and in the classroom. The Boyertown, Pa. native won the team's Shorty Stoner Award last year as the baseball student-athlete with the highest gpa. He has over a 3.5 gpa while majoring in accounting. On the field, he has hit over .300 in each of the last two seasons and has started at least 50 games in both seasons as well. In his first three years on the team after redshirting his true freshman year in 2004, he has played in 144 games, starting 137 of them. He is a career .304 hitter. Last year, he rotated between starting in center field and right field, and will likely do more of the same this year. Also a good fielder, he has committed just six career errors in over 200 total chances.
Hawkins is another solid student as he will graduate this spring with a degree in crime, law and justice. A native a Central Pennsylvania from nearby Glen Hope, Pa., his workload has increased in each of his first three years on the team as he has improved. Hawkins will likely be the top setup man out of the bullpen this year after he, along with Matt Ogrodnik, took care of much of the setup duties last year. Pressed into the role of a starter at the end of the 2007, Hawkins gave the Nittany Lions a chance to win in all three of his starts, which they did. He also more than doubled his career innings pitched total last year by throwing 40.2 innings and compiling a 4-0 record to go along with a 3.32 ERA, giving up just 15 earned runs.
Blackburn, Ernst and Hawkins are the three-longest tenured members of the Nittany Lion baseball team. They are the only three seniors that have been on the team for at least four years, as the other seniors were either Junior College transfers or did not start on the team as freshmen.
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