Indiana University Athletics
Haas, Watson and Fleenor Earn All-Big Ten Honors
5/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 23, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Junior second baseman Keith Haas (second team), senior center fielder Reggie Watson and sophomore right-hander Doug Fleenor each earned a spot on the 2006 All-Big Ten Baseball Team, the league office announced on May 23. Additionally, senior southpaw Clint Crosier was Indiana's honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
In his first season with the Hoosiers, Haas led the team in hitting (.353) and on-base percentage (.411). Starting 52 games and appearing in 53, Haas added one home run, 21 RBI, 37 runs, five doubles and 24 stolen bases. He garnered a tie for fourth in the conference in steals and speared 10th in batting average.
Since moving into the leadoff spot against Miami (Ohio) on April 25, the North Olmsted, Ohio product batted .348 (23-for-66) with 12 runs scored, six steals and seven multi-hit contests and was a presence on the basepaths, reaching safely in 15-of-17 contests and hitting safely in 14 of those games. Starting with Indiana's matchup at Butler (March 29), Haas completed the season on a tear. He reached base in 33 of the last 37 games, recording a hit in 30 of those games and hitting .417 (53-of-127) with 15 RBI, 16 steals, five doubles and 28 runs during the stretch.
Watson earned his third straight spot on the third team as an outfielder. A menace on the bases, Watson swiped a Big Ten leading 36 bags in 2006, which is tied for fourth in a single season on the IU charts, to move into sole possession of third place on the Hoosiers' career list with 90 all-time steals. Watson finished the year batting .341 with a pair of home runs, 20 RBI, 46 runs, six doubles and four triples.
Closing out one of the top careers in Indiana history, the Cincinnati native led the team in hits, runs, triples, steals and total bases while finishing tied for seventh in the league in runs. Watson shared seventh in school annals in triples (12) and tied for eighth in hits (219) and is tops in school history with 44 career Big Ten steals, third with 111 hits and fifth with 115 hits.
Fleenor picked up third team honors as a starting pitcher to become the first Hoosier hurler since Nick Vitielliss and Zach Otte in 2002 to be recognized by the league. Following a dominant stretch run, where he went 4-2 and surrendered only six runs in 38 2/3 innings (1.41 ERA), Fleenor finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 2.57 ERA and led the league in opponent batting average (.220). Overall, Fleenor ended the season with a 4-3 record and gave up 16 earned runs in 56 innings.
The Richmond, Ind., native closed the season with 17 appearances and four starts, including a memorable first nod. Fleenor flirted with history against Miami (Ohio) on April 25, tossing IU's first one-hitter since April 8, 2000, and the school's first nine-inning complete-game shutout since May 16, 2003. He carried a no-hitter though 6 2/3 innings in the contest. Fleenor added a second nine-inning whitewashing in the series finale against Illinois (May 15) and tossed his third complete game of the campaign at Minnesota (May 20).
2006 All-Big Ten Baseball Teams
First Team
1B - Pat McMahon, NU
2B - Jason Zoeller, OSU
SS - Mitch Hilligoss, PUR
3B - Ronnie Bourquin, OSU
OF - Matt Angle, OSU
OF - Eric Rose, MICH
OF - Ryan Basham, MSU
DH - Antonio Mule, NU
C - Jeff Kunkel, MICH
SP - Chris Fetter, MICH
SP - Paul Hammond, MICH
SP - Dan Brauer, NU
SP - Dan Delucia, OSU
RP - Tim Gudex, IOWA
Second Team
1B - Nate Recknagel, MICH
2B - Keith Haas, IND
SS - Jedidiah Stephen, OSU
3B - Caleb Fields, NU
OF - Ryan Snowden, ILL
OF - Lance Thompson, PSU
OF - Ryne White, PUR
DH - Spencer Ingaldson, PUR
C - Eric Fryer, OSU
SP - Austin Seward, IOWA
SP - Zach Putnam, MICH
SP - Cole DeVries, MINN
SP - J.B. Shuck, OSU
RP - Chris Toneguzzi, PUR
Third Team
1B - Andy Hunter, MINN
2B - Ryan Hastings, ILL
SS - Shawn Roof, ILL
3B - A.J. Scheidt, MICH
OF - Reggie Watson, IND
OF - Matt Nohelty, MINN
OF - Jacob Howell, OSU
DH - Adam Abraham, MICH
C - Geoff Dietz, NU
SP - Doug Fleenor, IND
SP - Alan Stidfole, PSU
SP - Cory Luebke, OSU
SP - Ricky Heines, PUR
SP - Dan Sattler, PUR
RP - Julio Siberio, NU
Player of the Year: Ronnie Bourquin, OSU
Pitcher of the Year: Dan Brauer, NU
Freshman of the Year: J.B. Shuck, OSU
Coach of the Year: Paul Stevens, NU
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees: Shawn Roof, ILL; Clint Crosier, IND; Austin Seward, IOWA; A.J. Scheidt, MICH; Kyle Day, MSU; Luke MacLean, MINN; Dan Brauer, NU; Cody Caughenbaugh, OSU; Scott Gaffney, PSU; Eric Wolfe, PUR.
