Cougar has double duty on team |
Kumar Bhooshan |
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SIUE relies on Crouthers to play outfield and be a key pitcher
For the past two years the Cougar baseball team has relied on Dave Crouthers to work double duty. A junior majoring in health education, Crouthers has established himself as one of the premier pitchers in the Cougar rotation and a definite threat in the middle of the offensive lineup. When he is not throwing strikes on the mound, he is one of the starting outfielders. Crouthers is not far from home; he attended Edwardsville High School. At Edwardsville, he was a member of the 1998 Tiger team with a 40-0 record that clinched the Illinois State title. He earned all-tournament honors, at the Illinois High School Association Championships. He was named All-Area and All-Conference by The (Alton) Telegraph. He was also named to the All-Metro team for The Telegraph, the Belleville-News Democrat and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Crouthers also played on the 1998 Edwardsville American Legion Team that won the American Legion national championship. Crouthers brought his experience and success to the Cougars, being named All-Conference last year and second team All-Region. He hit .320 last year and led the team with 23 doubles, and nine triples. He was a featured starter on the pitching staff, appearing in 14 games last year with a record of 5-4, with a 5.03 ERA. In 78 innings last year, Crouthers was able to strike out 54 batters. As a freshman, he started in 53 games and batted .355. He led the team with 203 at- bats and drove in 52 RBIs. In his Cougars career, Crouthers has batted .347 and totaled 144 hits going into the 2001 season. Also going into the 2001 season, Crouthers had a 5-5 record with a 5.20 ERA with 60 strikeouts. So far this season Crouthers has started in all 25 games totaling 22 runs, 35 hits and 35 RBIs with a .606 slugging percentage. Crouthers has been the most productive pitcher thus far for the Cougars. He is 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA, starting in six games and striking out 40 batters. He has only walked 20 and allowed one home run. | |