Bucknell University Athletics
Russ Lindberg Named to 2001 Verizon Academic All-America Baseball Team
6/5/2001 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 5, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell University senior first baseman Russ Lindberg (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) has been selected to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-America University Division Baseball First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He is the 100th Bucknell student-athlete to receive national Academic All-America honors since the programs inception in 1970.
In order to be eligible for Academic All-America honors, a player must be at least a sophomore and a starter or significant reserve on his/her team, and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better.
The national academic honor was the third of the spring for Lindberg who was chosen as the Patriot League's baseball scholar-athlete and to the Verizon Academic All-District 2 First Team. He graduated with a 3.57 grade point average and a degree in finance in May, and was a perennial member of the Dean's List and the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Lindberg was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, a member of the French Club, and a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. In addition, he was part of Bucknell's student-managed Investment Fund, which is a class that invests $200,000 of the school's endowment and then reports annually to the board of trustees.
Lindberg, a career .277 hitter entering the season, stepped up his play in 2001 and led the Bison to the Patriot League title and a berth in the NCAA Regionals with a .367 batting average. The 6,4," 235-lb senior played in and started 48 games, and was an All-Patriot League First Team selection and a candidate for Patriot League Player of the Year honors. He led the team and the conference in hits (61), home runs (9), RBIs (59), total bases (100), and sacrifice flies (6), and was among the top-five in four additional categories. His 59 RBIs rank as the fifth-best single-season total by any player in conference history.
Lindberg, who posted an impressive .991 fielding percentage with just four errors in 432 chances, set the school single-season record for putouts (405) and tied the mark for sacrifice flies (6). In addition, he set the career mark for putouts with 1148. He closed out his career in style by going 4-for-5 against Miami, the No.1 team in the nation, at the NCAA Regionals.
He was selected to the Pepsi-Johnny Quik All-Tournament team at Fresno State earlier in the season after hitting .458 during that week, including a blistering .647 (11-17) over the final four games of the tournament. Linbderg also took home Patriot League Player of the Week honors following his performance on the spring break trip to California.
Lindberg is the 26th Bucknell baseball player to earn Academic All-America honors, and the 12th under current head coach Gene Depew.
Bucknell has enjoyed outstanding success in the Verizon Academic All-America program. Since 1970, Bucknell student-athletes have earned national Academic All-America honors 100 times, which ranks third behind only Nebraska and Notre Dame in NCAA Division I. Earlier this year, Bison football player Dave Evans garnered national honors in the program.
Following is a complete listing of the first team:
2001 Verizon Academic All-America University Division First Team
Name Institution Pos. Cl. Major (G.P.A.) Hometown Mike Naumann Notre Dame P Sr. Pre-Professional Science (3.92) Tucson, Ariz. Jon Smith Cal State Fullerton P Sr. Accounting (4.00) Nuevo, Calif. Casey Myers Arizona State C Sr. Mathematics/Economics (3.97) Casa Grande, Ariz. Mike DeRenzo Penn State IF Jr. Computer Engineering (3.68) Murraysville, Pa. Chad Ehrnsberger Central Florida IF Sr. Sports Administration (3.60) Ottawa, Ohio Kevin Kirkby St. Joseph's IF Sr. Mathematics (3.48) River Vale, N.J. Russ Lindberg Bucknell IF Sr. Finance (3.58) Cleveland Hts., Ohio John Cole Nebraska OF Jr. Business Administration (3.58) Ottawa, Canada Jared Hertz Gonzaga OF Sr. Finance (3.94) La Verne, Calif. Bryan Scheurer Central Michigan OF Sr. Elementary Education (3.91) Portland, Mich. Jim Reilly St. Joseph's DH Sr. Chemistry (3.96) Pittsburgh, Pa.
