FMU’s Owen named National Pitcher of the Year !

FLORENCE, S.C. – Francis Marion University junior pitcher Dylan Owen has been selected the NCAA Division II national Pitcher of the Year by two different voting groups.   The 6-0 right-hander from Chesterfield topped both the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-America Team and the inaugural Daktronics Inc. All-America squad.

Owen was also a first-team Rawlings/ABCA All-America pick in 2006.

Owen finished 2007 with a 10-1 record, one save, and a 1.14 earned run average, while fanning 121 in 102.1 innings pitched. He walked only 19 batters and opponents hit just .208 against him, including a .178 figure by right-handed batters. He recorded three complete games, had six contests with double-figure strikeouts, and established a new PBC career record for strikeouts with 334.

Of the 77 hits he allowed this season, only eight were for extra bases and he did not surrender a home run. He leads Division II in ERA and strikeouts.

“This is a really big award and I am extremely happy to accept it,” Owen said on Monday. “Thinking back to losing my first start of the year (a 2-1 loss to Belmont Abbey College in FMU’s season opener), I would have never dreamt of earning this honor. I thought winning the Peach Belt Conference “Pitcher of the Year” award was nice, but it pales in comparison to this. I want to thank my battery mates Michael Ward and Jared Barkdoll, and the rest of my teammates for their defensive help and the runs they scored when I was on the mound. Even though it is an individual award, you can’t win an award like this by yourself.”

In three seasons, he has compiled a 28-8 record with two saves, a 2.15 ERA, and the 334 strikeouts in 323 innings. He has completed 16 of his 40 career starts.

Francis Marion ended 2007 with a 36-18 record and a Top-30 national ranking. FMU placed third during the PBC regular season and then narrowly missed earning a bid to the NCAA Division II national tournament.

Owen becomes the second Patriot student-athlete to earn a national player of the year award. Women’s basketball player Pearl Moore was named the 1979 Small College Player of the Year by the American Women’s Sports Foundation.