SAMFORD’S MARSECO NAMED OVC CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR

--Samford lands four on All-Conference teams, one on All-Freshman team--

PADUCAH, Ky. —Samford junior short stop Michael Marseco was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s Co-Player of the Year when the league released its postseason baseball awards at an awards banquet Tuesday evening.

Marseco shared the award with Jacksonville State outfielder Clay Whittemore. For the season, Marseco ranked second in the OVC in batting (.407 avg.), hits (88) and total bases (125). He is also tied the third in the league in triples with five.

Marseco, who was a Freshman All-American in 2006, was also named first-team All-OVC for the third year in a row.

During the season, Marseco set a Samford record with 88 hits, and he had a school-record 29-game hitting streak. His .407 batting average is the highest at Samford since baseball was re-instated in the early 1980s.

Three Samford players were named second-team All-OVC. Senior catcher Bear Burnett, senior designated hitter Michael Rutledge and junior starting pitcher Jonathan Stephens were all named second-team All-Conference. Also, freshman second baseman Michael Johnson was named to the league’s All-Freshman team.

Burnett, who moved to catcher this season after playing the last three seasons in the outfield, batted .307 with a team-high seven home runs. He also ranked third on the team in RBI with 45, and he was tied for third on the squad in doubles with 12.

Burnett enters the OVC Tournament with 52 career doubles, tying the Samford career record in the category.

Rutledge, who transferred to Samford this season after three years at Mississippi State , was second on the team in batting with a .346 average. He leads the team in doubles with 14, and in RBI with 51.

Rutledge’s RBI total of 51 ranks fifth in the OVC. He also ranks third in the league in RBI per game with an average of 1.04 per contest.

Stephens was the leader of the Samford pitching staff this season, posting a record of 7-0 with a 2.22 ERA. He only walked 13 batters in 81.0 innings of work.

Stephens ranks second in the OVC in individual pitching with his 2.22 ERA, second only to league Pitcher of the Year Christian Friedrich. He also ranks second in the league in innings pitched per game (6.75 pg.), and he is tied for second in shutouts (one). Stephens’ seven wins ties him for third in the conference.

Johnson ranked fourth on the team in hitting with a .326 batting average. He posted 10 doubles and 27 RBI on the season for the Bulldogs.

Samford, the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament, will play its first game Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky. Samford will play the highest-seeded team of the winners from Wednesday’s opening-day games. All Samford games in the double-elimination tournament can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/.

OVC Co-Player of the Year: Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State

OVC Co-Player of the Year: Michael Marseco, Samford

OVC Pitcher of the Year: Christian Friedrich, Eastern Kentucky

OVC Rookie of the Year:  Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State

OVC Coach of the Year:  Jim Case, Jacksonville State

ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM

POS.    NAME, SCHOOL                                               CL.            HOMETOWN                    KEY STATS
C          #Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri                  So.            St. Louis, Mo .                   .359, 61 hits, 46 runs, 6 2B, 6 HR, 40 RBI

1B        Matt Wagner, Southeast Missouri                  Jr.             Wahoo, Neb .                   .335, 62 hits, 32 runs, 7 2B, 9 HR, 46 RBI

2B        *$Bert Smith, Jacksonville State                     Jr.             Helena, Ala .                     .328, 64 hits, 51 runs, 12 2B, 38 RBI, 14 SB

SS        #!Michael Marseco, Samford                          Jr.             Fort Lauderdale, Fla .     .407, 88 hits, 51 runs, 12 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 46 RBI

3B        **Tyler Farrar, Austin Peay                              Sr.            Nashville, Tenn .              .270, 54 hits, 42 runs, 10 2B, 9 HR, 55 RBI, 18 SB

OF        Brett Nommensen, Eastern Illinois               Jr.             Fox River Grove, Ill .         .385, 69 hits, 46 runs, 16 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 15 SB

OF        *$Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State          Sr.            Cullman, Ala .                   .421, 90 hits, 43 runs, 17 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR, 63 RBI

OF        Tyrell Cummings, Southeast Missouri         Jr.             Muskogee, Okla .             .341, 70 hits, 48 runs, 16 2B, 12 HR

DH       Wes Cunningham, Murray State                    So.            Louisville, Ky .                  .380, 62 hits, 32 runs, 4 2B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 6 SB

UTIL    Steven Leach, Jacksonville State                   So.            Decatur, Ala .                    .353, 76 hits, 48 runs, 15 2B, 4 HR, 55 RBI

SP        *!Christian Friedrich, Eastern Kentucky        Jr.             Evanston, Ill.                     5-1, 1.43 ERA, 81.2 IP, 108 K's, .144 OBA

SP        #Ben Tootle, Jacksonville State                     So.            Oxford, Ala.                        10-2, 4.00 ERA, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 81.0 IP, 76 K's

RP       **Alex Jones, Jacksonville State                    So.            Hoover, Ala.                      7-2, 2.82 ERA, 8 saves, 44.2 IP, 57 K's

ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM

POS.    NAME, SCHOOL                                               CL.            HOMETOWN                    KEY STATS

C          Bear Burnett, Samford                                     Sr.            Birmingham, Ala .            .307, 54 hits, 42 runs, 12 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 5 SB

1B        Matt Kole, Austin Peay                                     So.            Franklin, Tenn .                .310, 57 hits, 41 runs, 15 2B, 6 HR, 43 RBI, 6 SB

2B        Matt Mihoci, Tennessee Tech                         Sr.            Jefferson, Ohio               .359, 52 hits, 29 runs, 12 2B, 25 RBI

SS        Thomas Nelson, Tennessee Tech               Sr.            Weaver, Ala .                     .313, 65 hits, 59 runs, 21 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 17 SB

3B        **Tyler Owen, Murray State                               Jr.             Evansville, Ind .                .293, 48 hits, 24 runs, 7 2B, 23 RBI

OF        **Rafael Hill, Austin Peay                                Sr.            Martin, Tenn .                    .391, 77 hits, 56 runs, 12 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 21 SB

OF        Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State          Fr.             Jacksonville, Ala .            .343, 69 hits, 62 runs, 14 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI

OF        **Jake New, Tennessee Tech                       Sr.            Perry, Ohio                        .352, 75 hits, 54 runs, 10 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 41 RBI

DH       %Brian Piazza, Jacksonville State                  Sr.            Montgomery, Ala .            .348, 56 hits, 29 runs, 14 2B, 7 HR, 45 RBI

DH       Michael Rutledge, Samford                            Sr.            Cullman, Ala .                   .346, 63 hits, 42 runs, 14 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 51 RBI

UTIL    Michael Bottoms, Morehead State                So.            Harrodsburg, Ky .            .323, 54 hits, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 3-5, 5.68 ERA, 36 K's

SP        Jonathan Stephens, Samford                         Jr.             Pensacola, Fla.                7-0, 2.22 ERA, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 81.0 IP, 43 K's

SP        Brian Booth, Jacksonville State                      Sr.            Wetumpka, Ala.                8-0, 2.54 ERA, 2 saves, 56.2 IP, 60 K's

RP       Daniel Tenholder, Austin Peay                      So.            Clarksville, Tenn.             4-1, 2.72 ERA, 11 saves, 36.1 IP, 41 K's

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

POS.    NAME, SCHOOL                                               CL.            HOMETOWN                    KEY STATS

C          Casey Branham, Morehead State                  Fr.             Catlettsburg, Ky .             .280, 14 hits, 4 runs, 4 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI

1B/P    Wes Patterson, UT Martin                               Fr.             Memphis, Tenn .              .297, 35 hits, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 2-3, 4 saves, 20 K's

INF       Greg Bachman, Austin Peay                           Fr.             Germantown, Tenn .       .259, 49 hits, 30 runs, 10 2B, 1 HR, 30 RBI

2B        Michael Johnson, Samford                             Fr.             Naples, Fla .                     .326, 62 hits, 47 runs, 10 2B, 2 3B, 27 RBI, 8 SB

SS        Jake Sharrock, Jacksonville State                  Fr.             Rossville, Ga .                  .226, 19 hits, 21 runs, 5 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI

3B        Trenton Moses, Southeast Missouri              Fr.             Advance, Mo.                   .280, 40 hits, 22 runs, 8 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI

3B        Michael Fear, Morehead State                         Fr.             Versailles, Ind .                .273, 35 hits, 13 runs, 7 2B, 1 3B, 18 RBI

3B        Jayson Langfels, Eastern Kentucky              Fr.             Lexington, Ky .                  .304, 56 hits, 3 runs, 10 2B, 8 3B, 4 HR, 37 RBI

OF        Ryan Faidley, Eastern Kentucky                     Fr.             Crystal Lake, Ill .              .248, 40 hits, 21 runs, 7 2B, 26 RBI, 13 SB

OF        Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State          Fr.             Jacksonville, Ala .            .343, 69 hits, 62 runs, 14 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI 

DH/P   A.J. Kirby-Jones, Tennessee Tech                Fr.             Knoxville, Tenn .               .331, 59 hits, 48 RBI, 3-1, 3.24 ERA, 2 saves

RHP    Josh Mueller, Eastern Illinois                         Fr.             Columbia, Ill.                    5-7, 4.57 ERA, 1 CG, 61.0 IP, 69 K's

RHP    Jordan Beistline, Jacksonville State              Fr.             LaGrange, Ga.                 3-1, 3.61 ERA, 47.1 IP, 32 K's

* - All-OVC 1st Team in 2007                                                        ! - All-OVC 1st Team in 2006

** - All-OVC 2nd Team in 2007                                                     $ - All-OVC 2nd Team in 2006

# - OVC All-Freshman Team in 2007                                          % - All-OVC 2nd Team in 2005