St. John's University Athletics
Goldberg Earns Second-Team All-BIG EAST Honors
5/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The All-BIG EAST First, Second and Third Teams were announced at a banquet prior to the conference tournament. Regular season champion Notre Dame claimed 10 spots, including six members on the first team, while Boston College and Virginia Tech each had five selections. All selections were made by the leagues head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Notre Dame senior right-hander Aaron Heilman claimed his second consecutive BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year award, while ND centerfielder Steve Stanley shared the Player of the Year award with Connecticut centerfielder Mike Scott. Notre Dame second baseman Steve Sollmann was named Rookie of the Year and Irish head coach Paul Mainieri was selected as the 2001 BIG EAST Coach of the Year.
Goldberg anchored the Red Storm pitching staff this season. A transfer from South Florida, Goldberg posted a 5-6 record with a 3.11 earned run average. Despite giving up nine earned runs in his final outing of the season, the junior was dominant throughout the season and ranked among the top-25 in the country in earned run average heading into the last weekend of the regular season.
He finished the season tied for the team-high in wins (5) and led the team in ERA (3.11), innings pitched (81) and strikeouts (70). In conference games, he posted a 3-4 record with a 3.51 earned run average and 43 strikeouts.
In 13 starts this season, he gave up more than three earned runs on only two occasions and threw five complete games.
Goldberg picked up his first win of the season on February 23, throwing eight innings of shutout ball at Charleston Southern, allowing only four hits and striking out nine batters. He lost three of his next four decisions, but kept the Red Storm in each game. Goldberg went 7.1 innings and allowed only two runs on seven hits against SEC power Vanderbilt in a no-decision. In his second-worst outing, a 5-0 decision at James Madison, the junior threw only five innings as St. Johns was no-hit. In his first BIG EAST start, Goldberg threw a complete game and scattered 10 hits, but gave up three unearned runs in a loss. He followed that up by yielding three runs on five hits in six innings as SJU lost to Georgetown.
Down the stretch, Goldberg was dominant. He threw back-to-back complete games in wins over Villanova and Connecticut. In a 5-3 win over the Wildcats on March 31, he gave up 10 hits, but allowed only one run and struck out seven. He followed that up a week later, scattering 10 hits and allowing one earned run (three overall) and striking out six in a win over the Eagles. Goldberg won his third-straight decision on April 14 over Pittsburgh, allowing two earned runs on six hits and striking out nine in seven innings.
The Red Storm finished the season 31-22 overall and 13-13 in the BIG EAST, good enough for fifth place.
