Frelick Voted ACC Defensive Player of the Year by Coaches

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Boston College junior center fielder Sal Frelick (Lexington, Mass.) was named the ACC Baseball Defensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s head coaches, on Monday morning. He is the first individual major award winner in the program’s 16-year ACC history.

An infielder in high school, Frelick moved to the outfield as a BC freshman, playing primarily in right field over the course of two seasons; the first of which was cut short by injury and the second by the Covid-19 pandemic. He moved to center field this year and was perfect in 127 chances, regularly providing highlight-level plays and denying hits to his opponents.

Frelick, who earned All-ACC Second Team as a freshman in 2019, added an All-ACC First Team selection this season with a .359 batting average, .443 on-base percentage and .559 slugging percentage. He totaled 70 hits, 50 runs, 17 doubles, six home runs, 27 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Frelick became the fastest player to 100 hits in BC history (72 games) and finished the year on a 19-game hit streak; the third longest in program history.

Joining Frelick on the All-ACC First Team are junior second baseman Cody Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) and sophomore third baseman Luke Gold (Ballston, N.Y.). The trio of first team selections is the first in BC history as only four players has previously earned the designation; all in separate seasons.

Morissette, another 2019 All-ACC Second Team pick, was hitting .342 on April 21 after missing time due to a hand injury. He finished the season on a 16-game hit streak and saw his average rise to .321 at season’s end. Morissette slugged .497 with nine doubles, six home runs and 33 RBI.

Gold hit .316 and slugged .576 with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 45 RBI. He is just the third BC hitter with nine or more home runs since 2015 and his 45 RBI are the most by an Eagle since 2014.

Junior right-handed starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan (Darien, Conn.) rounds out the Eagles’ selections as an All-ACC Second Team pick. He emerged as the team’s ace with a 5-5 record and 4.23 earned run average, including 3.67 in ACC play. Sheehan totaled 106 strikeouts, which is second all-time in program history, to 34 walks in 76.2 innings, while holding opponents to a .222 average. He struck out 15 batters at Pittsburgh (5/7); the most on record in program history.