Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — May 2017
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa’s Ben Norman and Kyle Shimp were named to Collegiate Baseball’s Freshmen All-America team, it was announced Wednesday by the college baseball newspaper.
The duo are the first Hawkeye freshmen to earn All-America distinction since 2012 when Sasha Keubel was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. They are the 18th and 19th All-Americans in school history.
Norman, an outfielder from Des Moines, Iowa, started 56 games and played in 59 contests as a true freshman. He finished fifth on the team with a .296 (61-of-206) batting average with 12 doubles, one triple, and one home run. He also scored 34 runs, had 20 RBIs, and paced the team with 14 steals.
The center fielder posted 18 multi-hit games on the year, including six three-hit and one four-hit contest, and had seven multi-RBI games. During NCAA Regional play, Norman led the team, hitting .600 (6-of-10) with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI.
Shimp, a reliever from Yorkville, Illinois, went 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 18 appearances as a redshirt freshman. He struck out 26 batters over 28 1/3 innings and limited opposing batters to a .186 batting average. Shimp allowed just 18 hits and 15 runs (10 earned).
The southpaw didn’t allow a run in 10 of his 18 appearances and didn’t allow more than three hits in any outing this season. In the postseason, Shimp went 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA.
Iowa finished the 2017 season with 39 wins — the fifth-most in a single season in program history — won its first Big Ten Tournament title in school history, and advanced to the second NCAA Regional in three seasons.
