UF's Nolan Fontana & Brian Johnson Named To 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | Baseball
University of Florida shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) and left-hander/designated hitter Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) will become members of the 22-man roster for the 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team it was announced on Tuesday. Both players competed for the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team that brought home a silver medal from the V FISU World University Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Fontana has started 40 games in his sophomore season for the fourth-ranked Gators (31-10/14-4 SEC) and is hitting .322 with 33 runs and a team-high 29 walks and has already set career bests in RBI (29) and triples (four). In league play, he boasts a .344 average and ranks first on the club in RBI (18), walks (11), triples (three) and sacrifice flies (three). Fontana was chosen as the initial Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for the 2011 season on Feb. 21 after going 9-for-12 (.750) in a series sweep of USF at McKethan Stadium. Against the Bulls, he had a stretch of seven-consecutive hits (last four at bats on Friday and first three on Saturday), one shy of the school record held by Kurt Keene (5/8-5/11/99), and he paced the Orange and Blue in batting average (.750), slugging percentage (.833), on-base percentage (.786), total bases (10) and runs scored (five).
Johnson has turned in a 6-1 mark with a 2.53 earned run average in 10 starts spanning 57 innings and has limited opponents to a .225 clip. He is second on the squad with 48 strikeouts and has been part of two of UF's eight shutouts, the team's most since 1991. At the plate, the dual threat is batting .325 with 21 runs, 17 RBI, 16 walks, nine doubles and a pair of homers. In SEC action, Johnson is 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA and is at .346 with eight runs, seven walks, six RBI and four two-baggers.
Last summer, Fontana started 15 of the Red, White and Blue's 19 games at shortstop, as the U.S. turned in a 16-3 record. He had a .250 (11-for-44) batting average in 17 games with a team-high 16 walks and eight runs scored, to go along with a .459 on-base percentage. Johnson made seven appearances on the hill, with one start, and was 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA. In 14.1 innings, the southpaw registered 16 strikeouts, issued five walks and limited opponents to a .128 average.
The 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will assemble on June 22. The team will embark on a tour which will be highlighted by the 38th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series. The series will open on July 3 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. Additional players will be selected to the team in the absence of players on the 22-man roster who are competing in Omaha at the NCAA College World Series. Players who have exhausted their age-specific eligibility to the 18U program from the 2010 18U National Team will also be in the candidate pool to replace players competing in the College World Series. July 2 will be the last day to report to the 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
