Ball State University Athletics
Nielsen Earns Second Freshman All-America Honor
June 08, 2009 | Baseball
“I am very happy for Ian,” head coach Greg Beals said. “He had a great freshman campaign and worked very hard to achieve this honor. We are looking forward to his continued success as a Cardinal.”
Earlier this season, Nielsen was named Second Team All-Mid-American Conference, becoming the first Cardinal freshman to earn conference honors since Ben Snyder (2005). He started all 51 games for the Cardinals at first base and led all MAC freshmen in hits (76) and RBI (53) and was second in batting average (.352). He tallied 15 doubles, two triples and nine home runs as he posted a .565 slugging percentage. He posted 24 multiple-hit games and 15 multiple-RBI games while earning MAC West Division Player of the Week honors twice during his rookie campaign.
The NCBWA/Pro-Line Athletic Freshman All-America team is headlined by players from 17 conferences and 10 conference champion teams. Nielsen is the only player from the MAC to be honored on the team and is the first Cardinal all-time to earn freshman honors from the NCBWA. He becomes the 11th Cardinal all-time to earn Freshman All-America honors and the second in the past two years as Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) earned the accolade last season.
Ball State finished the 2009 season as MAC West Division champions after posting a 26-25 overall record and a 14-10 mark in MAC play. The Cardinals wrapped up the season at the 2009 MAC Tournament in Chillicothe, Ohio May 21.
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