Baseball

Six Baseball Players Honored By GLVC
         The SIUE baseball team earned accolades from the Great Lakes Valley Conference last weekend.
         Second baseman Mark Bugger (Edwardsville), shortstop Chad Opel (Edwardsville), outfielder Dave Crouthers (Edwardsville) and pitchers Matt Wilkinson (Melbourne, Australia) and Bret Giaudrone (Gillespie) were all named first team All-GLVC. Crouthers also picked up second team honors as a pitcher and was named GLVC Player of the Year. Third baseman Luke Humphrey (Rantoul) also was honored, being named Co-Freshman of the Year in the GLVC.
         Bugger, a senior, has had a solid year. He earned his second straight All-GLVC selection. The 2000 All-American leads the team this season in batting average (.409), hits (95), triples (6), slugging percentage (.591) and stolen bases (10). Bugger’s 95 hits give him the SIUE single season record for hits, previously held by Tim Degener in 1991 with 94 hits. He also is tied on the NCAA Division II career hits leader with 341 career hits.
         Opel, a junior, is second on the team with a career-best .370 batting average and 87 hits. He leads the team in at-bats (235) and runs scored (72). Opel needs to score three more runs to hold the SIUE single season record for runs scored.
         Crouthers, a junior, earned recognition for play in the outfield and on the mound. He hit .352 with 81 hits while leading the team in doubles (16) and runs batted in (66). Crouthers needs two more RBI to hold the SIUE single season record for RBI. He posted a career-best 8-6 record and 2.76 earned run average on the mound. He led the team in innings pitched (98.0) and strikeouts (100).
         Wilkinson, a senior, posted a team-high and career-best 9-0 record. He currently holds the best record for a single season at SIUE, surpassing previous 7-0 records set by two pitchers during the 1970 season. Wilkinson also has posted a career-best with a 3.25 earned run average and tied a career-high with 66 strikeouts this season.
         Giaudrone, a senior, set the single season SIUE record for saves with 13, breaking the previous record of eight by Jason Guest in 1997. With a 7-3 record, he also leads the team in earned run average with a 1.65.
         Humphrey, a freshman, stepped up strong during the season, joining the team after the SIUE basketball season ended. In 48 games, Humphrey batted .278 with 49 hits, nine doubles, scored 39 runs and drove in 20 runs. He also provided some solid defensive play at third base.
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