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May 16, 2000
AUBURN- Auburn first baseman Todd Faulkner was a unanimous selection and was joined by outfielder Gabe Gross and pitcher Chris Bootcheck as members of the first-team All-SEC squad, released by the conference today. Outfielder Mailon Kent and pitcher Colter Bean were named to the conference's second-team.
Faulkner, who was named SEC Player of the Week earlier in the day, has posted one of the most remarkable seasons statistically ever by an Auburn player. The junior from Powder Springs, Ga., has tied or established five single-season records in 2000. Faulkner has broken the Auburn single-season marks for home runs (22), extra-base hits (47), total bases (188), and has tied school records in doubles (26) and runs batted in (95).
Hitting .419 on the season, Faulkner is the nation's leader in runs batted in and is five shy of becoming just the fourth Southeastern Conference player to tally 100 or more RBI in a season. Faulkner has also posted an astounding .821 slugging percentage and is among 12 semifinalists for the Rotary Smith Award, presented annually to college baseball's most outstanding player.
Gross, also a semifinalist for the Rotary Smith Award, leads the Southeastern Conference with a .427 batting average with 26 doubles, 12 home runs, 80 runs, 79 runs batted in, and a .532 on-base average. A Dotan, Ala., native, Gross is tied with Faulkner for the single-season doubles record. The sophomore's 80 runs scored are two shy of Scott Pratt's record of 82 set in 1988.
Bootcheck, a native of LaPorte, Ind., has posted a perfect 9-0 record with a 3.42 earned run average in a team-high 108 innings of work. Bootcheck leads Auburn in strikeouts with 93, is fifth in career strikeouts at Auburn with 263. Auburn is 15-2 this season when the right-hander has pitched.
Kent earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive year after being named to the 1999 All-SEC Second Team as a sophomore. A native of Birmingham, Kent is hitting .333 with 74 runs, 53 runs batted with a team leading 25 stolen bases.
A senior from Birmingham, Bean has appeared in 28 games, posting a 9-4 record with five saves and a team-best 2.68 earned run average. Bean is Auburn's all-time leader in appearances and relief appearance, and has 20 career saves.
Auburn led all SEC schools with three first-team members. South Carolina and Florida each had two first-team selections.
Auburn will travel to Hoover, Ala., for the 2000 Southeastern Conference Tournament, May 17-21, at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The fifth seed, Auburn (40-16) will play fourth-seeded Florida (38-20-1) on Wednesday, May 17, at 5 p.m. CT.
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