SAUGET, Ill-  Just one win away from a trip to this Saturday's national championship game, the Sonoma State baseball team picked up some individual honors when the ABCA/Rawlings All-American squad was announced on Tuesday night.  Matt Means was named First Team All-American with Konrad Thieme and Ian Bridges bringing home Second and Third Team honors, respectively.

Means, a senior from Mountain View, leads the team with a 10-1 record and a 1.89 ERA.  A consistent performer throughout the season, Means is 3-0 in the post-season.  For his career, the southpaw is second in SSU history in appearances (57), fifth in victories (15), fourth in strikeouts (150), and his 84 strikeouts are the fifth-best single-season mark as well.  He is the only First Team All-American still playing in the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament.  Means becomes the fourth Sonoma State player to earn First Team ABCA All-American honors, joining Derek Bell (2000), Feh Lentini (2001), and Brent Lysander (2007).

Konrad Thieme leads the team with 19 home runs, 64 RBIs, and 15 doubles.  A .330 hitter, the senior from Thousand Oaks earned First Team All-CCAA and All-West Region honors earlier this month.  Thieme's 19 home runs are the fourth-most in single-season history and with 27 in his two-year SSU career, he ranks fourth on the all-time chart as well.  Thieme's 2008 slugging percentage of .739 has been topped by just one performance in school history (Derek Bell, .816 in 2000).

The CCAA and West Region Player of the Year, Ian Bridges currently leads the team with a .410 batting average.  He is aiming to become just the third player in Sonoma State history to finish a season with an average of .400 or higher.  Bridges also has eight home runs and 56 RBIs to go along with his lofty average.  A catcher in his first season at SSU, Bridges shifted to first base this year and responded with Gold Glove honors. 

The Seawolves (52-13) are back in action on Thursday at 4:30 PDT.  They will take on the winner of Wednesday's Ouachita Baptist-Ashland game.  A webcast will be available for the game.  Tune in on the SSU athletics website, under baseball.

ABCA/Rawlings All-American Team

First Team
1B:  Chad Jacobsen, USC-Aiken
2B:  Chas Anthony, Erskine
3B:  Rodney Rutherford, Columbus State
SS:  Randall Clay, SE Oklahoma State
IF:  Rob Flanigan, North Georgia
OF:  David Thomas, Catawba
OF:  Gabe MacDougal, Lynn
OF:  Mike Elkerson, Abilene Christian
OF:  Chris Weimer, Nebraska-Omaha
C:  Keith Hernandez, Emporia State
DH:  Tyler Carroll, Central Oklahoma
SP:  Nick Shumacher, Wayne State
SP:  Korey Noles, Columbus State
SP:  Matt Means, Sonoma State
SP:  Anthony Bass, Wayne State
RP:  Anthony Perez, Tampa

Second Team
1B:  Bryan Cook, Nova Southeastern
2B:  Maikol Gonzalez, Tusculum
3B:  Greyson Schram, Concordia
SS:  Jason Morales, UNC Pembroke
IF:  Scott Savastano, Franklin Pierce
OF:  Jeremy Sands, Catawba
OF:  John Long, Southern Arkansas
OF:  Eric Shortell, Emporia State
OF:  Jake Palmer, Metro State
C:  Konrad Thieme, Sonoma State
DH:  Matt Miller, Mesa State
SP:  Steve Smith, Ouachita Baptist
SP:  Jim Fuller, So. Connecticut State
SP:  Brett Hontz, Carson-Newman
SP:  Marquis Fleming, CSU Stanislaus
RP:  Chris Matlock, Central Missouri

Third Team
1B:  Ian Bridges, Sonoma State
1B:  Ben Minard, Ashland
2B:  Clay Sartain, Delta State
3B:  Rob Dahlberg, West Alabama
SS:  Mike Provencher, Mesa State
IF:  Adam Kampsen, Northern State
IF:  Dirk Webb, Shepherd
OF:  Karl Derbacher, So. Connecticut State
OF:  Chris Pacheco, Incarnate Word
OF:  Shannon Wilkerson, Augusta State
OF:  Reed Welker, Saginaw Valley
C:  Rickey Noland, Delta State
C:  Jason Sherrer, Mount Olive
DH:  Adam McSwain, Limestone
SP:  Brandon Dill, West Alabama
SP:  Matt Wright, Shippensburg
SP:  Casey Hodges, Mount Olive
SP:  Mike Adams, Franklin Pierce
RP:  Keith Noe, UC San Diego

Player of the Year:  Keith Hernandez, Emporia State
Pitcher of the Year:  Korey Noles, Columbus State