Ohio Valley Conference

PADUCAH, Ky. - Southeast Missouri second baseman Clemente Bonilla was selected as the 2001 Ohio Valley Conference baseball Player of the Year and Southeast Missouri right-hander Todd Pennington was chosen as the 2001 OVC Pitcher of the Year in voting by the league's head baseball coaches and sports information directors. The awards were presented Tuesday night in Paducah, Ky. on the eve of the 2001 OVC Baseball Championship.

Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz was named the OVC Coach of the Year for the third time in the past four seasons and Eastern Illinois junior first baseman/outfielder Ben Duke was picked as the OVC Rookie of the Year.

Bonilla led the Indians and ranked second in the OVC with a .388 batting average. He was also among the league's top 10 in doubles (19) and runs scored (49). The junior from Mission Viejo, Calif., drew a school-record 57 walks, which is just one shy of the OVC season record set by former Major Leaguer Jack Perconte. Bonilla's on-base percentage this season was .564 and he was third on the team with 34 RBI's. He is the third player from Southeast Missouri to earn OVC Player of the Year accolades, joining Rex Crosnoe (1995) and Jeremy Johnson (2000).

Pennington turned in one of the best seasons in OVC history with a sparkling 12-1 record and a 0.81 ERA which is the lowest in the nation. The junior from McClure, Ill., allowed just 42 hits in 89 innings and ranks among Division I leaders with 114 strikeouts. Pennington tossed three shutouts this season and had a string of 29 consecutive scoreless innings at one point. His 12 victories are the most in Southeast history. He is the third pitcher from Southeast Missouri to earn OVC Pitcher of the Year honors, joining David Michel (1995) and Ryan Spille (1998).

Schmitz earned OVC Coach of the Year honors after guiding Eastern Illinois to its third OVC regular-season title in the past four years. The Panthers won a league-record 17 consecutive conference games to start the year, and finished 19-1 in the league. EIU won 32 of its final 40 games to post an overall mark of 34-18. The 34 victories are the 4th-highest total in school history, and the 19 OVC wins matches the league record.

Duke had a sensational first season at EIU, leading the Panthers with a .358 batting average. The junior from Olney, Ill. saw action as a first baseman, outfielder, third baseman and designated hitter. Duke also ranked among OVC leaders with 18 doubles and topped the team with nine homers.

Southeast Missouri had a league-high four players selected to the All-OVC first team. Joining Bonilla and Pennington were sophomore shortstop Zach Borowiak and senior catcher Jeff Bourbon. Also voted to the first team were senior outfielder Bob VanHoorebeck, sophomore designated hitter Bret Pignatiello and senior pitcher Mike Ziroli of Eastern Illinois; sophomore first baseman A.J. Ellis and sophomore third baseman Rusty Moore of Austin Peay; senior outfielder Matt Curtis and senior catcher/first baseman Ben Cunningham of Tennessee Tech, junior outfielder Billy Moore of Murray State and junior pitcher Eddy Bushelman of Morehead State.

2001 ALL-OVC BASEBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM

C - Jeff Bourbon (Southeast Missouri) - 6'1, 215, Sr., Cadet, Mo. - .292, 16 2B, 6 HR, 53 RBI

1B - A.J. Ellis (Austin Peay) - 6'3, 220, So., Lexington, Ky. - .348, 14 2B, 10 HR, 51 RBI

2B - Clemente Bonilla (Southeast Missouri) - 5'9, 170, Jr., Mission Viejo, Calif. - .388, 19 2B, 6 HR, 34 RBI, 8-12 SB

SS - Zach Borowiak (Southeast Missouri) - 6'1, 175, So., Nashville, Ill. - .322, 17 2B, 3 HR, 34 RBI

3B - Rusty Moore (Austin Peay) - 6'2, 180, So., Orlando, Fla. - .364, 20 2B, 7 HR, 37 RBI, 25-36 SB

OF - Billy Moore (Murray State) - 6'2, 180, Jr., Columbus, Ohio - .395, 9 2B, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 61 R, 12-19 SB

OF - Matt Curtis (Tennessee Tech) - 6'0, 190, Sr., Huntsville, Ala. - .340, 19 2B, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 11-13 SB

OF - Bob VanHoorebeck (Eastern Illinois) - 6'1, 185, Sr., Naples, Fla. - .344, 9 2B, 5 HR, 30 RBI

UTIL - Ben Cunningham (Tennessee Tech) - 6'1, 200, Sr., Greenville, Ill. - .381, 21 2B, 5 HR, 44 RBI

DH - Bret Pignatiello (Eastern Illinois) - 6'1, 205, So., Tinley Park, Ill. - .336, 9 2B, 4 HR, 31 RBI

SP - Todd Pennington (Southeast Missouri) - 6'2, 210, Jr., McClure, Ill. - 12-1, 0.81 ERA, 89.0 IP, 42 H, 114 K's, 33 BB

SP - Eddy Bushelman (Morehead State) - 6'3, 185, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio - 8-3, 4.94 ERA, 82.0 IP, 94 H, 85 K's, 40 BB

RP - Mike Ziroli (Eastern Illinois) - 6'2, 190, Sr., LaGrange, Ill. - 7-2, 8 svs., 2.97 ERA, 57.2 IP, 51 H, 50 K's, 31 BB

OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Clemente Bonilla, Southeast Missouri

OVC PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Todd Pennington, Southeast Missouri

OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Jim Schmitz, Eastern Illinois

OVC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ben Duke, Eastern Illinois

SECOND TEAM

C - Mike Schneider (Eastern Kentucky) - 6'4, 210, Jr., Northampton, Pa. - .284, 7 2B, 6 HR, 26 RBI

C - Tim Aurrichio (Eastern Illinois) - 6'1, 210, Jr., Brookfield, Ill. - .315, 9 2B, 6 HR, 28 RBI

1B - Brett McCutchan (Murray State) - 6'3, 205, So., Evansville, Ind. - .317, 15 2B, 7 HR, 55 RBI

1B - Will Renaker (Morehead State) - 6'0, 230, Jr., Cynthiana, Ky. - .351, 8 2B, 12 HR, 40 RBI

2B - Josh Landon (Eastern Illinois) - 5'11, 160, Sr., Abingdon, Ill. - .332, 22 2B, 7 HR, 36 RBI

SS - Kiley Vaughn (Eastern Kentucky) - 5'8, 155, Jr., Cynthiana, Ky. - .311, 12 2B, 12 HR, 39 RBI, 16-25 SB

3B - Chris Martin (Eastern Illinois) - 5'10, 200, Sr., Quincy, Ill. - .330, 9 2B, 7 HR, 53 RBI

OF - Josh Anderson (Eastern Kentucky) - 6'1, 190, Fr., Eubank, Ky. - .344, 8 2B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 29-37 SB

OF - Frank Kunich (Austin Peay) - 6'1, 185, Jr., Rancho Palos Verde, Calif. - .307, 13 2B, 15 HR, 47 RBI

OF - Pete Pirman (Eastern Illinois) - 6'0, 185, Jr., Palatine, Ill. - .341, 11 2B, 2 HR, 29 RBI

UTIL - Ben Duke (Eastern Illinois) - 6'2, 190, Jr., Olney, Ill. - .358, 18 2B, 9 HR, 30 RBI

DH - Mark Gilliam (Tennessee Tech) - 6'4, 225, Sr., Pelham, Tenn. - .330, 19 2B, 5 HR, 53 RBI

SP - Pete Martin (Eastern Illinois) - 6'2, 195, Jr., Normal, Ill. - 7-2, 6.00 ERA, 66.0 IP, 76 H, 69 K's, 38 BB

SP - Bubbie Buzachero (Tennessee Tech) - 5'11, 165, So., Livingston, Tenn. - 4-4, 3.34 ERA, 64.2 IP, 56 H, 68 K's, 28 BB

RP - Rick McCarty (Murray State) - 6'3, 175, Jr., Campbellsville, Ky. - 4-1, 8 svs., 5.34 ERA, 28.2 IP, 27 H, 19 K's, 7 BB

HONORABLE MENTION


Brian Nickell, 1B, Eastern Illinois; Jimmy Mains, 2B, Morehead State; David Hughes, SS, Morehead State; Kevin Matuszek, 3B, Morehead State; Vern Hatton, OF, Southeast Missouri; Michael Johnson, OF, Austin Peay; Garner Byars, OF, Murray State; Brad Beatty, DH, Southeast Missouri; Ronnie Seets, DH, Murray State; Cary Page, 1B/OF, Morehead State; Brad Meadows, P/3B/OF, Tennessee-Martin; Aaron Russelburg, P, Murray State; Scott Metz, P, Eastern Illinois; Jeffrey Hilz, P, Southeast Missouri; Greg Lunski, P, Southeast Missouri