Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Baseball: Aaron Sabato earns 2020 All-American honors

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 19: Aaron Sabato #19 of the University of North Carolina celebrates his home run with teammate Dallas Tessar #7 during a game between High Point and North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium on February 19, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 19: Aaron Sabato #19 of the University of North Carolina celebrates his home run with teammate Dallas Tessar #7 during a game between High Point and North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium on February 19, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

UNC baseball first baseman Aaron Sabato earned All-American honors for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season

University of North Carolina first baseman Aaron Sabato was named a second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the publication announced on Tuesday.

Sabato helped pace the Tar Heels to a 12-7 record in 2020 before the season was cut short in response to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. In 19 games, Sabato had a .292 batting average, and a team-leading .478 on-base percentage. He was also first among Tar Heels with a .708 slugging percentage, and a 1.186 OPS. He also led North Carolina in doubles (6), home runs (7), RBIs (18), total bases (46) and walks (22).

Before the season abruptly ended in mid-March, Sabato had hit safely in five of six games. In that five-game stretch, he was hitting .500 with six home runs, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored. The final ACC Player of the Week honor was awarded to Sabato on March 9. The struggling Tar Heels finished the season just five games above .500, and would almost certainly have done much worse without Sabato’s offensive output.

Sabato’s 2020 accolades follow up a terrific freshman season in which he earned a number of All-American honors. In 2019, he carried a .343 batting average to go along with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs. He led the team in hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS.

Sabato was the only North Carolina player named to any of the three All-American teams compiled by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Next. Tar Heels searching for future QB?. dark

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Aaron Sabato, and the UNC baseball program.

Home/UNC Baseball