SSC Boasts Two Martinez Award Finalists and a Tomko Award Finalist in 2017
Melbourne, Fla. - Two Sunshine State Conference baseball student-athletes were named 2017 D2 Baseball News Tino Martinez Award semifinalists, while one earned a D2 Baseball News Brett Tomoko Award semifinalist nod. Both Martinez (University of Tampa) and Tomko (Florida Southern College) played their college careers in the Sunshine State Conference.
Tino Martinez Award
Tyler Curtis of Lynn University and J.D. Osborne of the University of Tampa have been named finalists from the SSC. Curtis and Osborne look to become the first Tino Martinez award winner in the conference.
Curtis was named the 2017 SSC Player of the Year. The senior third baseman ranks first in league On Base Percentage (.518) and second in Batting Average (.433), Slugging Percentage (.733), and Total Bases (137). The Newburgh, New York native also ranks Top-10 in league Runs (59), Hits (41), Walks (31), and Home Runs (13).
Osborne was named a First Team All-SSC first basemen this season after helping the Spartans win the regular season SSC title and earning a berth to the 2017 NCAA tournament. The first baseman ranks first in the league in Homeruns (20), Slugging Percentage (.743), At Bats (222), RBIs (86) and Total Bases (165). He also ranks top-five in Batting Average, Runs, and Hits.
Previous Tino Martinez Award Winners
2016 – Alex Wojciechowski, Minnesota Duluth
2015 – Nick Sell, Seton Hill Griffins
2014 – Austin Kaiser, Colorado Mesa Mavericks
2013 – Harmen Sidhu, Sonoma State Seawolves
2012 – Nathan Minnich, Shepherd Rams
2011 – Chase Larsson, Cameron Aggies
2010 – Bryan Fogle, Erskine Flying Fleet
About Tino Martinez
The Tino Martinez Award is named after the former University of Tampa Spartan, United States Olympian, first round draft pick, and MLB All-Star, Tino Martinez. Martinez was a three-time All-American and still holds a number of UT records including career home runs (54), career slugging percentage (.736), career on base percentage (.494), single season batting average (.452) and single season slugging percentage (.957).
While he wore a Spartan uniform Tampa advanced to their first NCAA Division II National Championships (1986 and '87) and won their first of twelve SSC Championships ('87). Martinez was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. Current LSU head coach Paul Mainieri has been quoted as stating Martinez was, "the best player I've ever coached against".
Brett Tomko Award
Florida Southern's Jake Walsh was named the lone semifinalist for the Brett Tomko Award from the SSC. He joins 11 other student-athletes who hope the bring home the award, which was started in 2014 and honors the Division II Pitcher of the Year.
Walsh posted a 12-1 record while holding a 2.80 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 99.1 innings pitched. He held opposing batters to a .195 batting average after facing 370 At Bats.
Previous Brett Tomko Award Winners
2016 – Placido Torres, Tusculum
2015 – Craig Brooks, Catawba
2014 – Dan Altavilla, Mercyhurst
About Brett Tomko
Tomko led the Florida Southern Moccasins to the Division II Championship and threw a complete-game shutout to give FSC its eighth national title. He was named the outstanding player of the Division II Championship and was the Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. Tomko earned the distinct recognition of being the first athlete ever to be awarded both the NCAA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.