Three Ohio baseball players earned postseason honors by being named to Mid-American Conference teams.
Anthony Gressick was named to the All-MAC first team as a designated hitter. He hit .377 this year and led the Bobcats with 16 home runs, 48 runs, 129 total bases, 28 walks and a .705 slugging percentage.
Gressick also was second during the regular season in the MAC in home runs and slugging percentage, seventh in total bases and eighth in batting average and on-base percentage.
His 16 home runs tied Jeff Rook (1999) and Corey Keylor (2001) for the third-most home runs in a single season by a Bobcat.
Pitcher Chris Bova was named to the All-MAC second team after finishing the year 5-6 with three complete games and a team-leading 3.30 ERA.
He led the Ohio pitching staff with 92 2-3 innings pitched, 77 strikeouts and a .244 opponents' batting average. Bova was fifth in opponents' batting average and tied for sixth in strikeouts, innings pitched and complete games during the regular season in the MAC.
Bova finished his collegiate career 18-13 with a 4.42 ERA and is third all-time at Ohio with 283 innings pitched and 214 strikeouts.
Ben Crabtree was named a utility player to the All-MAC second team. After missing 13 games in the middle of the season with a wrist injury, he batted .307 with six home runs and 32 RBIs.
He was fifth on the team with 34 runs scored and 51 hits and was tied for second with 11 doubles.
Crabtree also moved into fifth place in school history with 39 doubles and ninth in hits (197), RBI (127) and total bases (302).
Two in prospect list
Two Ohio pitchers are ranked among the state's top 10 prospects for the upcoming 2004 Major League Baseball First Year Player's Draft June 7-8, according to the latest edition of Baseball America magazine.
Right-hander Adam Russell is the No. 2 prospect in the state while right-hander Marc Cornell is eighth.
The Florida Marlins drafted Russell in the 20th round of the 2000 MLB draft. He was 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts this year and was second on the Ohio pitching staff with 61 strikeouts and third in innings pitched (64).
Cornell was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round in the 2003 draft but chose to return to Ohio for his senior season.
He started five games this season for the Bobcats with a 1-2 record and 10.42 ERA.
After battling injuries during the last two seasons, he finished his career tied for seventh in school history with 187 strikeouts.
17 Archives
Julie Goldberg
