LSU Gold

#31 Wally Pontiff Season 2002

Position
Infield
Height
6'0
Weight
200
Class
Junior
Hometown
Metairie, La.
B/T
L
High School
Jesuit HS

2002 Team Captain
2002 Second-Team All-Southeastern Conference
2002 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament Team
2002 Verizon District VI All-Academic Team
2002 Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll
2001 First-Team All-Southeastern Conference
2001 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament Team
2001 Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll
2000 Southeastern Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2000 Collegiate Baseball Honorable Mention Freshman All-American
2000 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament Team

Tremendous student-athlete who finished on the LSU career list for hits (9th, 254), doubles (tied for 7th, 49) and batting average  (10th, .344) … a natural leader and the Tigers’ 2002 team captain, he helped LSU go 28-10 after a 16-12 start … made a huge impact on the Tigers’ 2000 national championship team as a true freshman, starting 27 games in left field, 17 at DH, six at third base and one in right field … earned the permanent starting job at third base in 2001 and earned first-team All-SEC recognition … played in every game except one in his sophomore and junior seasons … a member of the 2001 and 2002 SEC Academic Honor Roll with a 3.25 GPA in biological sciences … named to the 2002 all-district Academic team, one of only five LSU players to earn such distinction … was also recruited by Miami (Fla.), Alabama, Tulane, Mississippi State and Florida.   

JUNIOR SEASON (2002)
Started 65 of LSU’s 66 games, batting .339 (84-for-248) with 20 doubles, six home runs and 46 RBI … led the Tigers in walks (48) and on-base percentage (.443) … batted .300 (6-for-20) in the regional to earn all-tournament team honors for the third consecutive year … showed great discipline at the plate, striking out just 20 times in 307 plate appearances … had hitting streaks of 19 games (Feb. 22-March 26) and 12 games (April 6-26) during the season … collected at least two hits in 24 games … started off season in dramatic fashion by driving in the game-winning run with a one-out single in season opener vs. Birmingham-Southern (Feb. 8)…had tremendous three-game series vs. nationally-ranked Houston (Feb. 22-24), batting .583 (7-for-12)  with six RBI; his three-run double gave LSU lead for good in victory over Cougars in series’ second game (Feb. 23) … hit three-run home run to propel LSU over Vanderbilt in SEC opener (March 15)…collected career-high two doubles to help defeat Mississippi State (March 30), launching LSU on its 28-10 streak to end the year … went 3-for-4 with two RBI in SEC Tournament win over national runner-up South Carolina (May 23) … went 3-for-5 in the Tigers’ regional clinching victory over Louisiana-Lafayette (June 2).

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2001)
Started all 67 of LSU’s games, batting .347 (93-for-268) with nine doubles, one triple, seven homers and 58 RBI … hit .302 (38-for-126) in SEC games with six homers and 31 RBI … batted a team-best .362 (17-for-47) in LSU’s 11 post-season games with two doubles, 10 RBI and nine runs … LSU’s leading hitter in the three-game NCAA Super Regional vs. Tulane (June 1-3), batting .400 (6-for-15) with one RBI … 4-for-6 in Game 1 of the Super Regional with one RBI and one run … named to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional all-tournament team after hitting .316 (6-for-19) in four games with two doubles and five RBI … hit .385 (5-for-13) in LSU’s four SEC Tournament games with four RBI and five runs … tied career high with four hits — all singles — in five at-bats at Alabama (April 28) … collected five RBI vs. Florida (March 16) with one triple, one homer and three runs scored … 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBI vs. Kentucky (March 31) … also collected four RBI with a homer and two sac flies vs. Ole Miss (April 14). 

FRESHMAN SEASON (2000)
Appeared in 61 games (51 starts), batting .347 (77-for-222) with 20 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 45 RBI and 41 runs … hit .370 (34-for-92) in SEC regular-season games with 12 doubles, one triple, two homers and 12 RBI … batted .423 (22-for-52) in LSU’s post-season games with four doubles, three homers and 17 RBI … the MVP of the SEC Tournament, as he hit .615 (8-for-13) with one double, seven RBI and a grand slam in the championship-game win over Florida (May 21) … hit .214 (3-for-14) in the College World Series with one double, one RBI and three runs … named to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional all-tournament team as he batted .471 (8-for-17) with two doubles, two homers, seven RBI and five runs… 3-for-8 in the NCAA Super Regional versus UCLA with two RBI and two runs … launched first career LSU homer (a solo shot) at Central Florida on March 5 … 4-for-8 in Florida series (April 15-16) with one double and two RBI … unloaded two homers (a solo shot and a two-run blast) in 12-10 win over Auburn (April 2) … batted .500 (6-for-12) in the Auburn series (March 31-April 2) with one double, two homers and three RBI. 

HIGH SCHOOL
A four-year letterman at Jesuit High in New Orleans, where he earned 1999 Class 5A all-state honors to go along with all-Metro and all-district recognition … batted .471 (50-for-106) his senior season with 12 doubles, one triple, six homers, 30 RBI and 47 runs … for his career, he batted .429 (129-for-302) with 39 doubles, four triples, 15 homers, 64 RBI and 103 runs … also earned all-state, all-Metro and all-district honors as a junior, and was voted the New Orleans area outstanding player in 1998 … named to the 1999 Class 5A Academic all-state team, as he graduated summa cum laude with a 4.2 GPA… received the Jesuit High President’s Award. 

PERSONAL
Full name is Wallace Victor Sebastian Pontiff Jr. … parents are Wally Pontiff Sr. and Terry Pontiff … Wally Sr. played college baseball for three seasons at Loyola-New Orleans and one season at Miami (Fla.) … has a younger sister, Haley, and a younger brother, Nicholas … interests include cooking, movies and Nintendo … chose to attend LSU because “it was the best combination of academics and athletics” … credits his father with having the greatest influence on his athletic career … born Nov. 18, 1980.

Pontiff’s LSU Career Highs

At-Bats: 6 (several times)
Hits: 4 (three times)
Runs Scored: 4 vs. Jackson State (5/26/00)
Doubles: 2 (twice)
Triples: 1 (two times)
Home Runs: 2 (two times)
RBI: 6 vs. Jackson State (5/26/00)
Stolen Bases: 1 (several times)

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