Courtesy: Robert Newcomb - UGA Broadcast, Video, & Photography
Courtesy: UGA Sports Communications
Release: 01/05/2007
2009 (Junior): *Played in 54 games with 48 starts in centerfield, batting .291 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI *Drafted in the 13th round with the 383rd overall pick by the Seattle Mariners *Had a career-high five hits including two home runs in Georgia’s 24-8 win over Ohio State in the opening game of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional; hit the second of the Bulldogs’ two grand slams in the eighth inning and finished with five RBI *Hit grand slam in the sixth inning of Georgia’s 6-3 win over #7 Ole Miss in opening game of SEC Tournament on May 20, driving in a career-high five runs *Went 2-for-5 with a home run and drove in the winning run on a walk-off single in the ninth inning against Vanderbilt on May 10 *Went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, three runs scored and 10 total bases vs. #17 Florida on May 3 *Went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored April 29 vs. Jacksonville State *Went 2-for-4 with his second home run in as many games April 22 at Jacksonville State *Had game-winning hits in both of Georgia’s 4-3 wins over #5 Arkansas with an RBI single in the ninth on Friday and an RBI double in the ninth on Saturday; hit .417 for the series *Had two hits in each game of the LSU series with a home run and two doubles *Recorded 100th career hit with a single to right field in the fourth inning against Le Moyne on March 10 *Tied then-career highs with four hits and four RBI including a double and his first-career triple and set a then-career high with seven total bases in his first game of the season at Arizona on Feb. 28; batted .700 (7-for-10) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI in the series
2008 (Sophomore): *Appeared in 69 games with 64 starts in centerfield for the SEC Champions that advanced to the College World Series Finals and posted a number two final national ranking *Batted .303-7-33 and fielded .978 for the year *Batted .500 (4-for-8) with three runs scored, two doubles and a home run in two-game series at #3 Florida State *Career-high 4-for-4, 2 RBI effort in road win over LSU on April 19 *Career-high 4 RBI day in going 3-for-5 with a home run in SEC title clinching win at #16 Vanderbilt on May 11 *Batted .2875-15 in SEC action *Ranks third on the team in stolen bases with 12 in 14 attempts *Nine-game hitting streak earlier this season *Tremendous running catch at SEC Tournament versus Ole Miss and then crashed in to the wall and left the game with a mild concussion *Solid NCAA Athens Regional, batted .458 (11-for-24) with a home run and 5 RBI *Hit .500 (6-for-12) in the Super Regional with one RBI and three runs scored *Started all six games in CF at the CWS, batting .263-0-5 with one error in 21 total chances *Went 2-for-3, 3 RBI in 4-3 win over #7 Stanford at the CWS and then next day tied CWS/Georgia record going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts *Made SEC Academic Honor Roll
2007 (Freshman):
*Appeared in 30 games with 21 starts (9-LF, 9-RF, 3-DH)
*Batted .214-0-7 with a .941 FLDG% in 51 total chances (3 errors)
*Hit .176-0-1 in 11 SEC games including seven starts
*Went 3-for-4, 3 RBI in season opener vs. #15 Oregon State, also had 3-hit games at Mercer and against Purdue in February
*Notched go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning of 4-3 win at #20 Ole Miss on April 7
High School:
*A graduate of Chattahoochee where he played for Tim Lemons
*School record holder with a career .408 batting average and 22 home runs
*Team went 22-8 as a senior earning Most Valuable Player honors
*Hit .414 with school record 17 home runs and 51 RBI as a junior for the 5-A state champions
*Led the Cougars to a 33-4 mark and final national ranking of #23 in Baseball America’s top 25 in 2005
*An AFLAC All-American Top Prospect selection
*Named Atlanta Journal All-Area Player of the Year
*Member of Junior Team Georgia and Dugout Club All-Tournament team
Personal: Born Jan. 4, 1988 Son of Frank Cerione and Kathy and Mike Jessee Major: Arts & Sciences
Courtesy: Robert Newcomb - UGA Broadcast, Video, & Photography
