June 6, 2005

WALNUT CREEK, CA - The University of California baseball program had four players selected to the 2005 Pac-10 All-Academic Team, it was announced today by Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen.

The Golden Bears' first team Pac-10 All-Academic selection was senior third baseman Matt Einspahr (3.32 GPA in sociology). Earlier, Einspahr was named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine's District 8 All-Academic Baseball First Team, and was recently acknowledge at Cal's Honors Luncheon as a winner of the Pac-10 Postgraduate Scholarship. A captain of the Bears' baseball team, Einspahr graduated this spring and plans to pursue a career in dentistry.

This season, Einspahr started 56 of 57 games for Cal, batting .313 with seven doubles, a triple, four home runs and a team-leading 41 RBI. He also batted .337 against Pac-10 competition, including knocking in the game-winning RBI against Arizona State in the Bears' 4-3 come-from-behind victory, Apr. 10 at Evans Diamond, and going 5-for-5 at No. 7 Arizona May 28.

Three more Bears were among the Pac-10 honorable mention All-Academic list - junior outfielder Allen Craig, junior right-hander Alex Trafton and sophomore infielder Brett Munster.

Craig, who was also honorable mention All-Pac-10, batted .307 overall with a .358 average versus Pac-10 competition this season. He added 14 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI, and three times this season led-off a game with a home run. Craig now owns a .292 career batting average as a Bear with 33 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 72 RBI in three seasons.

Trafton finished with a 2-1 record with a save and a 3.54 ERA this season, while Munster started the last seven games of the year at shortstop, batting .179 with three doubles and three RBI. Both Craig and Trafton were honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic picks last season as well.

Cal concluded the 2005 season 34-23 overall and 13-11 in the Pac-10.