KU Pitchers Duncan, Benjamin Highlight All-Big 12 Teams

May 22, 2012

2012 Kansas All-Big 12 Honorees

Sophomore Frank Duncan was named Second Team All-Big 12 Tuesday by the conference office. All-Big 12 Second Team Frank Duncan (6-7, 2.81 ERA, 105.2 IP, 31 BB, 92 K) All-Big 12 Newcomer Team Wes Benjamin (4-7, 3.68 ERA, 88 IP, 29 BB, 52 K) All-Big 12 Honorable Mention James Stanfield (.292, 6 2B, 12 R, 15 RBIs, .372 on-base) All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Tucker Tharp (.261, 3 2B, 2 HR, 21 R, 15 RBIs, .340 on-base, 5 SB)

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Kansas sophomore right-handed pitcher Frank Duncan and freshman left-handed pitcher Wes Benjamin highlighted the Jayhawks’ four All-Big 12 selections, which were announced Tuesday by the conference office. Duncan earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors, while Benjamin was selected to the All-Newcomer team.

Senior catcher James Stanfield and sophomore outfielder Tucker Tharp were also tabbed All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Duncan, a 6-foot-4 sophomore right-hander from San Francisco, Calif., has been KU’s top pitcher throughout the year. The sophomore is 6-7 with a 2.81 ERA in 14 starts. He has walked 31 and struck out 92, which is tied for the seventh most in a single-season by a Jayhawk. Duncan capped his regular season with two wins in the month of May, including a complete game shutout against Missouri in his last start on May 17.

The sophomore ranks third in the Big 12 in innings pitched (105 2/3), fifth in strikeouts (92) and sixth in opponents’ batting average (.217) and 12^th in ERA (2.81).

Benjamin, a 6-foot-1 freshman left-handed pitcher from St. Charles, Ill., was the Jayhawks’ No. 2 starter throughout the 2012 season. The first-year lefty is 4-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 14 starts with 29 walks and 52 strikeouts. Benjamin has also flourished at the end of the season, winning his last two starts and posting a 1.64 ERA during the month of May, which included a complete game shutout at Kansas State on May 12.

Stanfield, a 5-foot-11 senior catcher from Owasso, Okla., earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the first time in his career. The senior is hitting .292 with six doubles and 15 RBIs, while he is the team’s leading hitter (.319) in Big 12 games. Stanfield is also one of the top defensive catchers in the league, throwing out 16-of-44 (36.4 percent) would-be base stealers.

Tharp, a 5-foot-11 sophomore outfielder from Boulder, Colo., was also honored on the all-conference teams for the first time in his career. The sophomore hit .261 with a pair of homers and 21 runs scored in 49 games. Tharp took over as the team’s leadoff hitter in early April and batted .280 with a .348 on-base percentage over KU’s final 25 games. He also started all three outfield positions without committing an error and recording five assists.

Kansas faces Texas A&M at 4 p.m., in the first round of the Big 12 Baseball Championship Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.