Heston, Kickham Sweep Top Pitching Honors
It is the first time teammates swept the top starting pitching awards since the league adopted its current format of awarding post-season All-Star honors to one right-handed and one left-handed pitcher in 2001.
Heston and Kickham become the third and fourth Flying Squirrels selected to a post-season all-star team, joining right-hander Rafael Cova, who was selected as the top relief pitcher following the 2010 season, and left-hander Eric Surkamp who was chosen as the league's top left-handed pitcher in 2011.
After earning 2011 midseason All-Star honors and winning the California League ERA title in with Advanced-A San Jose, Heston has thrived in the Eastern League. He currently leads the league in ERA (2.12). Additionally, he ranks third in the circuit in WHIP (1.10) and fourth in strikeouts (123). In 23 starts on the season, he has posted double-digit strikeout totals three times and has one complete game.
Recently, Baseball America tabbed him as having the best control in the Eastern League in 2012. Heston was twice named the Eastern League Pitcher-of-the-Week for the week of May 21st - 27th, and he was also chosen as a midseason Western Division All-Star. A ninth-round selection of the San Francisco Giants out of East Carolina in the 2009 draft, the 24-year old is currently in his fourth professional season.
Ranked as the 20th-best prospect in the San Francisco farm system entering the season, Kickham has enjoyed a stellar season with Richmond after making the leap from Low-A Augusta to the Double-A Eastern League. The left-hander boasts a 10-10 record with a 3.04 ERA in 25 starts with the Flying Squirrels. He ranks second in the league in opponent's batting average (.223), third in strikeouts (125) and walks (68) and fourth in ERA (3.04). He matched the single-game franchise record for strikeouts (12) against Reading August 2nd and tossed seven no-hit innings against Harrisburg August 8. A sixth-round selection of the San Francisco Giants out of Missouri State in the 2010 draft, the 23-year-old is currently in his third professional season.
In addition to Heston and Kickham, former Flying Squirrel Tommy Joseph, who played in 80 games with Richmond before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies July 31, was also chosen to the league's Post-Season All-Star team. Joseph batted .260 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs with Richmond and was named to the team at catcher. Like Heston, Joseph also represented Richmond on the Western Division team in the 2012 Baseballtown All-Star Classic.
Individual game tickets for the remaining Flying Squirrels' 2012 home games are currently available and can be purchased by calling (804) 359-FUNN (3866), visiting the Flying Squirrels' Ticket Office at The Diamond or logging on to SquirrelsBaseball.com.