Former Cavalier Phil Gosselin called up by Atlanta Braves

Former Virginia infielder Phil Gosselin has been called up to Major League Baseball for the first time by the Atlanta Braves and will be in uniform Friday evening. The 32nd former Cavalier to reach the big-league level, Gosselin played for the UVa baseball program from 2008-10.

The Braves play host to the Washington Nationals at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 16) at Turner Field in Atlanta in the first of a three-game weekend series. Gosselin was a fifth-round pick (164th overall) in the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Braves.

Gosselin becomes the sixth former Cavalier to see time in Major League Baseball this season. Including Gosselin there are five former Virginia baseball players currently competing in Major League Baseball: Sean Doolittle (Oakland), Javier Lopez (San Francisco), Mark Reynolds (New York Yankees) and Ryan Zimmerman (Washington). David Adams (New York Yankees) also has spent much of the 2013 season in the major leagues.

A native of West Chester, Pa., Gosselin was a member of three NCAA tournament teams during his time with the Cavaliers and was a key contributor in 2009 when Virginia won the ACC championship and earned its first appearance in the College World Series.

Gosselin was a .337 career hitter (222-for-658) at Virginia. A two-time First-Team All-ACC honoree, he finished his UVa career with 19 home runs, 50 doubles and 145 runs batted in. He ranks sixth in Virginia history in career doubles and 10th in RBI and total bases (345).

He had a record season for the Cavaliers during his junior season in 2010, earning First-Team All-ACC and Third-Team All-America honors. Gosselin hit .382 in 2010 while breaking the Cavaliers’ single-season hits record with 100 hits. He led the team in home runs (11), runs (67), doubles (22), walks (39), total bases (163) and stolen bases (18), and also did not commit an error.

One of Gosselin’s top highlights during his UVa career was his first-pitch home run off of San Diego State hurler Stephen Strasburg (now with the Washington Nationals) in the first inning of the opening game of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. UVa went on to win that game, 5-1, en route to the NCAA Irvine Regional championship. The Cavaliers won the Oxford Super Regional the following weekend to punch their ticket to the College World Series.

Gosselin was batting .277 with a pair of home runs and 11 RBI with triple-A Gwinnett this season, but was hit .419 (13-for-31) over a season-best eight-game hit streak which was snapped on Thursday. He started the year with double-A Mississippi and batted .243 before getting promoted June 23 to Gwinnett.