BEAUMONT – Third baseman Robin Adames became the eighth Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American from the Lamar University baseball team, the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper announced Wednesday morning with their list of freshman standouts.
 
Adames is the first Cardinal since Eric Harrington on the list since 2009 and is the first position player to do it since fellow third baseman Wes Koch was chosen in 1998. He joined Brennan Breaud from Southeastern Louisiana, Tyler Starks of Stephen F. Austin and Bryan King of McNeese State
 
The Bronx, N.Y. native blasted six home runs on the season, most of any freshman in the league and fourth-highest total on the team, and had a .296 batting average. His sixteen doubles topped the Cardinals.
 
He finished the season with 33 runs batted in and another 33 runs scored.
 
"You don't see a lot of freshman that can come in and hit like he did," said Lamar University hitting coach Scott Hatten. "It usually takes a year or two for guys to pick it up at the DI level, but he picked it up right away. He has great power, as much as any freshman I've seen.
 
"He has great power numbers, and in our ballpark they are special," he said "His future offensively is very bright."
 
Despite being listed as a third baseman, Adames served time as LU's first baseman and designated hitter. He bounced around the lineup from the fifth slot all the way to the eighth. He spent 15 games in the five-hole of the lineup and 19 in the sixth spot.
 
"It was great to have him for those 5-8 spots, he really helped protect the meat of our order," said Hatten. "He is a very advanced hitter for his age, and may be one of the most advanced we've had since Michael (Ambort), (Collin) DeLome and those guys.
 
"He is a very, very smart hitter, and he spends a lot of time working on it," said Hatten.
 
He put together a 20-game reached base streak, which was second behind Stijn van der Meer's 32-game school record streak. He ended his season on an eight-game hit streak, which matched his season high in the 2016 campaign.
 
Despite already having a great season, Adames looked to turn a corner at the end of the season. During his eight-game streak to end the year, he was hitting .387 (12-31) with five runs and eight RBI.  He had a huge game in the first of a three-game set at Stephen F. Austin; he was 4-of-4 with two homers and four RBI.
 
Several times through the streak, he broke through with a big base knock when the Cardinals needed it, such as a big double in the first game against Sam Houston State that sparked a four-run rally.