June 10, 2003
FAIRFAX, VA ... George Mason junior shortstop Jeff Palumbo was named to the first team and junior third baseman Nick Shimer received honorable mention as the All-Virginia Division I baseball team was announced today. Voting for the team was conducted by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID).
Palumbo and Shimer each earned the All-Virginia honor for the first time in his career. Shimer also was a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and first-team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) selection, while Palumbo was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-CAA choice.
Palumbo (Bowie, MD/St. John's HS) was chosen as the CAA's best defensive shortstop in a preseason coaches poll by Baseball America and he did not disappoint. The 5-10, 165-pounder committed seven errors in 248 chances for a .972 fielding percentage, and he made just one error in 107 chances in 22 contests against CAA foes (.991 percentage). Palumbo finished the season with a 24-game errorless streak (covering 109 chances) and his 163 assists ranked third in the conference.
Offensively, the switch-hitter had another solid season as he batted .310 with five home runs and 36 runs batted in. He ranked fourth on the Patriots in both batting and RBI, tying with teammate Evan Howard for the latter honor and tying with Howard for third on the team in home runs. He had eight RBI vs. Towson in the CAA Tournament on May 22 to tie the George Mason school record, and his 11 RBI over five games in Manteo, NC, tied the tournament mark.
Shimer (Clifton, VA/Robinson HS) had a breakout year both offensively and defensively for George Mason. The 6-1, 210-pound right-handed hitter posted career highs with a .349 average, 19 doubles, nine home runs and 41 RBI. He led the Patriots in doubles while ranking second in home runs and batting and was third in RBI. Defensively, he had just six errors in 184 chances for a .967 fielding percentage.
George Mason completed the 2003 season with a 31-20 overall record and a 9-8 mark in the CAA. It was the first time the Patriots posted 30 wins since 1999, and they overcame being the No. 6 seed in the OBX/CAA Baseball Championship to win three games in the tournament and advance to the championship round for the first time since 1993.
