May 19, 2008

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Senior shortstop Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) was named to the All-BIG EAST third team tonight at the league's annual postseason banquet on the eve of the conference tournament. Shunk becomes only the second player in program history to be a three-time all-conference selection.

Shunk led the Wildcats in hitting from start to finish this season and enters the postseason the only player on the team with a batting average better than .300. Shunk is hitting .362 with a .458 on-base percentage and a .505 slugging percentage. He currently has hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games and is riding an 11-game hitting streak during which he is batting .426 (20-for-47).

During his senior season, Shunk broke the school records for career hits, games played and at-bats. He ranks in the top-10 in program history in five other categories as well and currently has 281 career hits and a .346 career batting average. Shunk has never hit below .325 in a season at Villanova and has hit over .350 in each of the past two seasons.

This year Shunk has stepped up his level of play in conference games. During regular season BIG EAST play, he batted a team-high .375 (39-for-104) with five doubles, three home runs, 22 RBI and 17 runs scored. He reached base safely in 25 of 27 conference games and his batting average against league opponents was more than 150 points higher than last season.

In addition to his team-high batting average, Shunk leads the team with 14 doubles and 46 runs batted in. He has drawn 30 walks while striking out just 24 times in 251 plate appearances. Shunk has currently made 199 consecutive starts and is the only player on the team to start every game the past two seasons. He needs seven more at-bats to break the school's single-season record, while his 76 hits this season are a career high.

The only other player in school history to earn All-League accolades three times is Bob McCreary. McCreary was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in 1986 and earned all-conference distinction in both 1987 and 1988.

The 2008 BIG EAST Championship officially kicked off with Monday night's opening ceremonies and Fan Fest at Bright House Field in Clearwater. The site, which is the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies and venue for the minor league Clearwater Threshers, will play host to the conference tournament the rest of this week.

Villanova is making its second straight postseason appearance and will play its opening game in the tournament on Tuesday at 1 p.m. against top-seeded St. John's. The Wildcats are coming off a series against the Red Storm that concluded the regular season this past weekend. Villanova took the middle game of the series from St. John's to clinch a playoff berth. On Tuesday afternoon, sophomore Brian Streilein (Staten Island, N.Y.) will match up against Red Storm southpaw Matt Tosoni.