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Four Named All-American for SIUE Baseball
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Southern Illinois University Edwardsville posted a record four players on the NCAA Division II baseball All-American list. They are Mark Bugger (Edwardsville), Matt Wilkinson (Melbourne, Australia), Chad Opel (Edwardsville) and Bret Giaudrone (Gillespie). Bugger was a first team All-American. Wilkinson, Opel, and Giaudrone earned third team All-American nods. Bugger, a senior second baseman, became the first player in SIUE to become a two-time All-American. Bugger broke five career records, including the NCAA Division II hits record. He currently has 356 career hits, which includes an SIUE single-season record 110 this season. His other career records are for at bats, runs, runs batted in and doubles. Bugger is batting .417 this season with seven home runs and 70 runs batted in. Wilkinson, a senior starting pitcher, currently holds a 9-1 mark. In his 15 starts, the right-hander has an earned run average of 3.62 with 70 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings. Opel, a junior shortstop, also broke SIUE's record for single-season hits but has seven fewer than Bugger this season. Opel has 103 hits and a school-record 82 runs scored this season. Batting .383, Opel has seven home runs and 38 runs batted in. Giaudrone, the Most Valuable Player at the NCAA Division II North Central Regional, broke school record for saves (14) and appearances (40). The left-handed relief pitcher holds a 1.76 earned run average and was seventh nationally in that category heading into the final eight of the NCAA-II Championships in Montgomery, Ala. SIUE now has had 20 All-Americans in its history. The Cougars previously had double All-Americans in 1972 (Dan Cole and Mike Allaria), 1985 (Pete Delkus and Tony Duenas) and 1997 (Ryan Cox and Mike Robertson). SIUE never has had more than three in a season. Bugger also is the first All-American SIUE has had at second base. -siue- |