Chris Marconcini

Brentwood Home Page news reports
Duke freshman Chris Marconcini, of Brentwood, was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper announced Wednesday.

Marconcini, a 6-5, 200-pound first baseman, led Duke doubles (15), triples (6), home runs (4), RBI (39), runs scored (41), slugging percentage (.481) and total bases (99). He started 55 of Duke’s 56 games, posted a .291 batting average and stole eight bases in 10 attempts.

He was one of three first basemen to appear on Louisville Slugger’s Freshman All-America team this year, joining Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Brian Ragira of Stanford and Big East Rookie of the Year Trey Mancini of Notre Dame.

Marconcini, a graduate of Battle Ground Academy, was Duke’s best hitter in clutch situations, batting .383 with runners in scoring position. His 39 RBI are the most by a Duke freshman since 1999, and he is only the seventh player in Duke baseball’s 122-year history to lead the team in RBI, runs and extra-base hits.

Also an outfielder, Marconcini led Duke with 19 two-out RBI and a .386 batting average with two outs on the board. With runners on base and two outs, he hit .448 and put together a team-high 11 multiple-RBI games.

One of 15 freshmen who will return to Duke for the 2012 season, Marconcini is currently playing his summer baseball with the Harrisonburg Turks in the Valley Baseball League. He will come back as a key member of a Duke team that returns 26 of 27 letterwinners for next season.

Marconcini is the fourth Duke player in the last five years to earn Freshman All-America honors, joining Michael Seander (’07), Will Piwnica-Worms (’09) and Marcus Stroman (’10). He was also one of three ACC players to appear on this year’s Louisville Slugger team, standing alongside North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran and Georgia Tech outfielder Kyle Wren.