Eric Hamilton of Liverpool, NY Named Preseason First Team All-American

2017 Jan 16

Eric Hamilton of Liverpool, NY of the Oswego State baseball team has been named to D3baseball.com's 2017 Preseason All-America First Team for third base. This comes on the heels of being recognized as a Second Team All-American by the same entity following the 2016 season.

Hamilton enters his senior year coming off a junior season crowded with accolades and records. The Liverpool, N.Y. native maintained a .399 batting average, while collecting 69 hits in 173 plate appearances, which smashed the previous single-season record of 61 base knocks set by Mark Levine in 1985.

Earlier in the season in a 26-0 win over Cazenovia, Hamilton blasted a soaring 2-run home run over the center field fence at Laker Baseball Field, placing him atop another program record list and surpassing Derek Myers' 11 dingers in 1998. The senior third baseman went on to add one more homer bringing his season total to 13. Hamilton also drove in 55 runs and scored 46, falling one RBI and five runs short of breaking the single-season Laker records, respectively.

His offensive output matched by a sturdy defensive prowess, at both third base and catcher, was pivotal in leading the Lakers to the program's best finish in history. Oswego earned a 35-11 record en route to a season-high No. 4 ranking and a third-place finish in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships New England Regional. It also posted its first NCAA postseason wins since 1984, collecting three during the five-day double-elimination playoff.

Other recognition came by way of ABCA/Rawlings, which acknowledged Hamilton on its All-America Third Team. D3baseball.com named Hamilton its All-New York Region Player of the Year, while the SUNYAC presented him with conference Player of the Year honors and a place on the All-League First Team.

Proving it was no fluke, Hamilton recorded equally incredible numbers during a summer league stint following the 2016 season. He cracked a record 12 homers and drove in an unheard of 63 runs, which crushed the existing record. The previous standing was 53 set in 2015 by Ryan Gendron of NCAA Division II Southern New Hampshire University. Yet, Hamilton extended his numbers beyond just his ability to hit with power by maintaining a .319 average and slapping 66 hits-31 of them for extra bases-in 48 games.

For the effort, he was named to the Perfect Game/Rawlings All-America Third Team and Honorable Mention All-American by Collegiate Summer Baseball as well as First Team All-Futures League.

Oswego will begin its 2017 campaign on February 25 with a doubleheader at Salisbury University.

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