Holba And Packard Earn Postseason Accolades

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU's Chris Holba (third-team) and Bryant Packard (first-team) continued to add postseason honors to their resumes as both were named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-America Team the organization announced Wednesday. Packard also picked up All-America accolades from Perfect Game (first-team), D1Baseball (second-team) and was selected to the 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-South Region (first-team). The duo helped the Pirates claim the 2018 American Baseball Championship crown, the top seed in the Greenville Regional and a 44-18 overall record.

Holba, who was a unanimous AAC selection, posted a 9-1 record for the Pirates in 15 outings while sporting a 2.99 ERA. He ranked among the league leaders (Top 10) in wins (t1st), ERA (sixth), fewest runs allowed (30/t6th), fewest earned runs allowed (27/seventh), innings pitched (81.1/eighth) and fewest walks (20/t8th). An 11th round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft and a Golden Spikes Watch List candidate, he combined on a pair of shutouts (UNC and Saint Joseph's), sported a .900 winning percentage (tied for sixth on ECU single-season charts) and tallied eight quality starts to lead the Pirates.

Packard, who is the first player in program history to earn inclusion to six All-America teams in the same season, led the club in seven offensive categories including batting average (.406), where he ranks among the nation's Top 10. He also stood first in The American in hits (89), slugging percentage (.671) and total bases (147), while ranking among the league leaders (Top 10) in on-base percentage (.462/third), home runs (14/t3rd), runs (51/sixth) and RBI (50/t8th). Against UCONN on May 17, Packard singled in the fifth inning to center field setting the program record for consecutive games with a hit (30) breaking Stephen Batts' 11-year old record. His streak came to an end (32 games) during the first round of the AAC Championships vs. UCF. A semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, Packard became the 16th player in Pirate school history to win the hitting triple crown and first since John Wooten in 2012.

Holba and Packard are the fourth and fifth All-America selections under head coach Cliff Godwin, joining Reid Love (2015), Evan Kruczynski (2016-17) and Travis Watkins (2017). It also marks the sixth-straight year the Pirates have had an All-America selection on their team dating back to 2013.

Holba's 2018 Postseason Honors

Third-Team All-America (NCBWA)
Unanimous First-Team All-American Conference selection
11th round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals (pick 333 overall)

Packard's 2018 Postseason Honors

First-Team All-America (Baseball America)
First-Team All-America (CollegeSportsMadness)
First-Team All-America (NCBWA)
First-Team All-America (Perfect Game)
Second-Team All-America (Collegiate Baseball)
Second-Team All-America (D1Baseball)
American Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Year
Unanimous First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection
First-Team All-South Region (ABCA)
Greenville Regional All-Tournament Team

Players Mentioned

Chris Holba

Evan Kruczynski

Bryant Packard

Travis Watkins

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