PHILADELPHIA - Austin Bossart of the Penn baseball team has been named to the initial watch list for the 2013 Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top Division I catcher in the nation. Only 48 catchers nationwide made the initial watch list, and Bossart is the only representative on the list from Ivy League.
One of three team captains this year and just a sophomore, Bossart was named honorable mention All-Ivy last season after a freshman campaign in which he batted .276 with 17 runs batted in and six stolen bases. His impact on the game went far beyond his offensive numbers though. Starting 39 of Penn's 40 games in 2012, Bossart threw out 22 baserunners, including a stretch of games against Brown, La Salle, Dartmouth and Harvard where he caught five consecutive runners stealing. He also kept runners honest by picking off five who wandered too far off the bag.
There have been no signs of a letdown from Bossart to start this season. A .324 average through nine games puts him third on the team among those who have started every game. He's also improved his power numbers in the early going, already matching his output from a year ago with four doubles. Though catchers aren't often known to be a threat to run, Bossart has added three stolen bases in four attempts.
While his offense has improved, his defense is as strong as ever. In eight games behind the plate, Bossart has allowed just six stolen bases in 13 attempts. Taking away the first two games of the season at William & Mary, he's caught five of the last seven attempted base stealers this season, including all three in Penn's most recent game at Winthrop on Sunday.
Bossart will look to continue his torrid start to the season on Wednesday afternoon, when Penn wraps up a stretch of 10 games away from Meiklejohn Stadium with a 3 p.m. game at Towson. The Quakers make their home debut on Saturday with a doubleheader against George Washington beginning at 12 p.m.
2013 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com Watch List
Blake Austin JR Auburn University
Brett Austin SO North Carolina State University
Dan Bethea SR St. John's University
Austin Bossart SO University of Pennsylvania
Ryan Breen SR University of Central Florida
Garrett Custons SR Air Force Academy
Mike Danaher SR Binghamton University
Blair DeBord JR Kansas State University
Brian Dixon JR University of New Orleans
Kaiana Eldredge JR University of Kansas
Zane Evans JR Georgia Tech
Drew Farber JR UNC Wilmington
Jacob Felts JR University of Texas
Aramis Garcia SO Florida International University
Mitchell Garver SR University of New Mexico
Kyle Gibson JR University of Louisville
Grayson Greiner SO University of South Carolina
Radley Haddad SR Butler University
Chris Hoo JR Cal Poly
Nate Irving SO University of Virginia
Blake Johnson SR Arkansas-Little Rock
Jose Longoria SR Grambling State University
Adam Martin JR Western Carolina University
Stephen McGee JR Florida State University
Riley Moore SO University of Arizona
Spencer Navin JR Vanderbilt University
Grant Nelson SR Saint Louis University
Ramon Ortega SR Manhattan College
Matt Paré SR Boston College
Jordan Parris JR Tennessee Tech University
Colton Plaia SR Loyola Marymount University
Jake Rodriguez JR Oregon State University
Tyler Ross JR Louisiana State University
Tanner Rust JR New Mexico State University
Scott Sarratt SR Georgia State University
Brandon Schott SR University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Kyle Schwarber SO Indiana University
Ronnie Shaeffer SR UC Irvine
Adam Sonabend JR Eastern Michigan University
Elvin Soto SO University of Pittsburgh
Michael Spano SR Florida Atlantic University
Andrew Stumph SR Texas State University
Alex Swim SR Elon University
Stuart Turner JR University of Mississippi
Luke Voit SR Missouri State University
Matt Winn SO Virginia Military Institute
Jake Wise JR University of Arkansas
Mack Zagunis SO Virginia Tech
Courtesy: University of Pennsylvania
