Black College Nines announced its postseason awards for the 2016 baseball season and Jackson State sophomore standout Jesus Santana was named the Black College Nines Player of the Year and grabbed a spot on the Large School Division First Team. Two other Tigers were also recognized; Cornelius Copeland was named to the first team and Miguel Yrigoyen was selected as a second team member.
Santana improved from his freshman season, as he posted 61 runs, 212 at-bats, 59 hits, 16 doubles, and 17 home runs for 67 RBIs this season. He maintained a .278 batting average and a .594 slugging percentage. Santana ranks 11th nationally in RBIs, 17thin home runs, 24th in RBIs per game, 26th in runs, and 29th in home runs per game.
Copeland played in 54 games with 188 at-bats. He maintained a .420 batting average and a .628 slugging percentage. He recorded 62 runs, 79 hits, 18 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 38 RBIs, and 118 total bases. He ranks first in the nation in hits by pitch with 26.0, second in hit by pitch per game, third in batting average, 10th in runs per game, 17th in runs, and 43rd in slugging percentage.
Yrigoyen was this season’s starting pitcher for Jackson State. He appeared in 16 games with two complete games for a 9-3 record. Over 84.0 innings he allowed 79 hits, 43 earned runs, 98 strikeouts, and a 4.61 earned run average. He ranked 39th nationally in victories and 45th in strikeouts per nine innings