Thursday, May 22
Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00 a.m.
Game 4 - #2 Samford vs. Highest Seed of Games 1/2 Winners, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 - #1 Jacksonville State vs. Lowest Seed of Games 1/2 Winners, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 23
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Lowest Seed of Games 4/5 Losers, 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 - Winner Game 6 vs. Highest Seed of Games 4/5 Losers, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
Game 9 - Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 12:00 p.m.
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 26
Game 11 - Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 10, 12:00 p.m. (if necessary)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Eric Allen, OF ? Sr., 6-0, 185 ? Georgetown, Ind. ? Morehead State
Allen finished up his season and collegiate career by smashing four home runs in a three-game series with Southeast Missouri. Allen hit .455 (5-for-11) with five runs scored, the four round-trippers and 11 RBI as the Eagles ended the season by taking two of three from the Redhawks. For the week he slugged 1.545 and had an on-base percentage of .625. He also did it with his glove in the series, making a diving catch in the mud to save a run and help prevent a Redhawk rally. Allen finished the season with 17 home runs, the most in the OVC.
Others Nominated: Richie Derbak, Eastern Illinois; Clint Seymour, Eastern Kentucky; Daniel Adamson, Jacksonville State; Marcus Rodriguez, Samford; Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri; A.J. Kirby-Jones, Tennessee Tech.
PITCHER
Ben Tootle, RHP ? So., 6-1, 190 ? Oxford, Ala. ? Jacksonville State
Tootle repeated as OVC Pitcher of the Week and won the award for the third time this season after tossing a complete game shutout against UT Martin. The sophomore righty allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out eight in the seven inning contest as Jacksonville State won 5-0 and clinched the OVC regular season championship. Tootle faced just four batters over the minimum and held UTM to a .174 batting average. He improved to 8-0 in the OVC this season and 12-1 all-time against Conference opponents.
Others Nominated: Daniel Tenholder, Austin Peay; McKenzie Willoughby, Eastern Kentucky; Quentin Morgan, Morehead State; Joshua Vanfleteren, Samford; Michael Alcorn, Tennessee Tech.
Team Notes
Austin Peay (27-27, 14-12 OVC): Austin Peay closed out the regular season by losing a non-conference game to Lipscomb and then taking two of three games at home against Murray State. The Governors finished the season 14-12 in OVC play, which put the defending champions in third place 8.5 games behind Jacksonville State. Senior OF Rafael Hill hit .375 (6-for-16) with a double, triple and RBI in four games last week. Hill finished the regular season with a .391 batting average, which was fourth among OVC players. His 21 stolen bases was the second-best mark in the league. Pitcher Stephen Huff did not allow a run in 5.1 innings as he allowed six hits and struck out five. Austin Peay closer Daniel Tenholder recorded his 11th save of the season last week; that is just one off the OVC single-season record of 12 currently held by Eastern Kentucky’s Joe Witten (1995). Tenholder appeared in all four APSU games last week and did not allow a hit or run in 3.2 innings of work. After picking up the save in the first game of the doubleheader on Friday night against Murray State, Tenholder came back to record a win in game two. On the season Tenholder was a 4-1 record and 2.72 E.R.A. in 36.1 innings of work. Austin Peay is making its 20th OVC Tournament appearance, including its 10th in a row. As the No. 3 seed the Govs will play No. 6 seed Southeast Missouri on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
Eastern Illinois (23-28, 13-13 OVC): Eastern Illinois secured the No. 4 seed in this week’s OVC Tournament despite winning just one of three games at Eastern Kentucky over the weekend. After a 10-4 non-conference win over Evansville, EIU dropped both ends of a doubleheader on Friday (5-4, 4-3) by one run apiece. But the Panthers won when it counted, scoring five runs in the first inning on Saturday on its way to a convincing 20-7 victory to finish the OVC season 13-13 overall. The 20 runs were a season-high. Eastern is back in the OVC Tournament after a year-one break; EIU has made 10 of the last 12 tournaments. Sophomore catcher Richie Derbak drove in nine runs in four games last week, collecting eight of those nine with two outs. In Saturday’s regular season finale he homered twice and had five RBI. OF Brett Nommensen had multiple-hit games in all four contests last week, going 9-for-19 overall. For the month of May he is batting .583 (21-for-36) with 13 runs scored and now leads the OVC in on-base percentage (.509). He also ranks fifth in the OVC in batting average (.385). Alex Gee hit his first career home run last week and collected four RBI in the 20-7 win on Saturday. Josh Mueller struck out seven over 4.2 innings in Friday’s game two. Brian Morrell struck out six over five innings of work last week; he finished the regular season with a 4-0 record and 1.23 ERA in OVC Play. As a team, EIU finished the regular season leading the league in E.R.A. and batting average against. Curt Restko did not strikeout in 79 plate appearances at home this season; his no-strikeout streak ended on Friday after OVC strikeout-leader Christian Friedrich. Prior to that strikeout, Restko had not struck out in 62 consecutive at-bats (over 76 plate appearances). Eastern Illinois will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak at the OVC Tournament; they have not won in Paducah since topping Southeast Missouri in the opening round of 2004. The Panthers will open tournament play with No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech on Wednesday.
Eastern Kentucky (26-27-1, 12-15 OVC): Eastern Kentucky concluded the 2008 season with a non-conference victory at Dayton and by winning two of three at home against Eastern Illinois, but it was not enough for the Colonels to make the six-team OVC Tournament field this season. That snapped a five-year stretch of making the field and marked only the fifth time in the 30-year OVC Tournament history that EKU is not in the field. Eastern finished the season in eighth place overall, a game out of sixth place. All-American Christian Friedrich had another brilliant performance come up short of a win, as he was lifted from the game after eight innings. Friedrich allowed seven hits and two unearned runs over eight innings while striking out nine but got his sixth no-decision of the season. For the season Friedrich had a 5-1 record and 1.43 E.R.A. in 81.2 innings of work. He struck out an OVC-best 108 (11.90 per nine innings) and walked only 33. Opponent hit only .144 against him and he allowed just 13 earned runs. McKenzie Willoughby appeared in two games, winning one in relief and the other as a starting pitcher; he pitched 7.1 combined innings and struck out five. Offensively, Tyler Rehmel hit .438 (7-for-16) in four games and rove in five runs. Anthony Ottrando added five hits and four RBI while Clint Seymour led the squad with a .533 (8-for-15) average for the week. Ottrando finished the season as the team’s batting leader (.354 average).
Jacksonville State (36-19, 23-4 OVC): Jacksonville State just kept winning last week, scoring victories in each of its four games to run its winning streak to 16 games, which is tied (with LSU) for the longest active winning streak in the country. The Gamecocks topped Kennesaw State in non-conference play (12-11) before winning three straight at UT Martin to lock up its second OVC regular season championship (2005) and the No. 1 seed in this week’s OVC Tournament. Jax State finished the season 23-4 in OVC play and became the second OVC team to win every conference series in which it competed in during the year since the Conference went to a round-robin schedule (Eastern Illinois is the other team). Overall the team has won 14 straight OVC series dating back to last season. The 23 Conference wins also set an OVC record, topping the 21 games won by Samford in 2005. JSU has won 14 straight OVC games overall. Daniel Adamson hit .529 (9-for-17) with seven runs and six RBI last week. Sophomore Ben Tootle continued to roll, pitching a complete game shutout in the squad’s 5-0 win on Friday. He allowed just four hits and struck out eight in seven innings to improve to a perfect 8-0 in OVC play this season. He is now 12-1 all-time against OVC teams in his two-year career. Overall he has a 10-2 record and 4.00 E.R.A. in 81 innings of work; Tootle has struck out 76 on the season. Senior All-American Clay Whittemore became JSU’s all-time hits leader over the weekend, notching three hits on Saturday to push his career total to 252 (passing Jake Ball, 249); an impressive stat considering he played only three years at JSU. The team’s 36 wins overall this season is the most under head coach Jim Case and most since the program moved to Division I in 1996. Reliever Brian Booth has five wins during the win streak and is now 8-0 with a 2.54 E.R.A. in 56.2 innings of relief. Booth has appeared in 27 games out of the bullpen and struck out 60. As the No. 1 seed in the tournament, JSU will have a bye through Wednesday’s first round and open play on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Morehead State (18-33, 8-19 OVC): Morehead State saw its first season under head coach Jay Sorg come to an end on a positive note, as the Eagles took two of three from Southeast Missouri at home. MSU finished the season with an 18-33 overall record and 8-19 OVC mark. The Eagles topped Southeast Missouri 10-8 in game one before falling 9-6 in game two. On Saturday, Morehead came from behind in dramatic fashion to win 13-12 in 10 innings. That win saw MSU score four runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. Senior OF Eric Allen capped his only year in a Morehead State uniform in style, hitting four home runs and driving in 11 runs in three games. Allen hit .455 (5-for-11) with five runs scored and a 1.545 slugging percentage. In the 10-8 game one victory, Allen made a diving catch in the mud along the left field line to help squelch a SEMO rally. Allen finished the year with 17 home runs (0.33/game), which was first in the OVC. Sophomore reliever Quentin Morgan appeared in two of the three games in the Southeast Missouri series, and recorded a win and save in 3.0 innings of work. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the team’s 10-8 win in game one to pick up the save (his 6th of the season) and came back on Saturday to pitch the final two innings as MSU came from behind to win in 10 innings. Morgan added two wins in 32 innings of work on the season. Michael Bottoms finished the season leading the team in batting average (.323) and first among starting pitchers in E.R.A. (5.68). Sophomore Drew Lee was second on the team with a .313 average. MSU turned 59 double plays on the season, 20 more than its opponents. 1B Marc Midden had a .992 fielding percentage on the season, committing just three errors in 381 chances.
Murray State (21-30, 12-14 OVC): Murray State played five games last week and saw its season come to an end when it finished 12-14 in OVC play, which placed it seventh, a half game out of the sixth and final playoff spot. The Thoroughbreds started the week with a 4-3, 10-inning loss to No. 20 Kentucky at Brooks Stadium in Paducah (site of this week’s OVC Tournament). MSU led into the ninth inning only to see UK tie the game and eventually win in the 10th. The game was a "do-over" from last year’s scheduled contest that was rained out at the last moment. Murray State also hosted Arkansas State (lost 5-2) and then played three at defending champion Austin Peay. APSU took the first two games of the series (4-2 and 3-2 in 8 innings) but MSU closed the season on a high-note with an 11-4 victory on Saturday. Had Murray State won one other game over the weekend they would have made the OVC Tournament field. Zach Noonan led the team with a .429 average (6-for-14) and added three RBI and a stolen base. Marc Harmon pitched well against nationally-ranked Kentucky, allowing just three hits over 7.1 innings of work. He struck out eight and allowed one run in getting a no-decision. Mike Perconte added to MSU’s complete game total on the season, throwing one on Friday night. It marked his fourth complete game of the season and the team’s 13th in 51 games. Daniel Calhoun led the team with six complete game efforts on the season, as well as a 3.00 E.R.A. in 81 innings of work. Wes Cunningham finished the season leading MSU in batting average (.380), a mark that ranked sixth in the Conference.
Samford (33-21, 19-7 OVC): Samford entered the final week of play having already secured a spot in the OVC Tournament and first round bye, and capped off the regular season with one win in three games at Tennessee Tech. The Bulldogs won game one 5-3 and then dropped the final two contests (4-2 and 7-6) to a Golden Eagle team that had to win to be in the tournament field. Sophomore 1B Marcus Rodriguez hit .375 (3-for-8) with three doubles and two RBI in three games last week. Sophomore hurler Joshua Vanfleteren pitched six innings, allowing six hits and striking out four without walking a batter. He picked up the victory in Friday’s first game with that outing. Junior SS Michael Marseco continued his hot-hitting season by breaking the Samford single-season record for hits (88) with two in the regular season finale. He was one of two OVC players to hit above .400 on the season (.407), as he added 51 runs, 12 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 46 RBI in 54 games. On the mound, pitcher Jonathan Stephens finished the regular season with a 7-0 record and 2.22 E.R.A. in 12 appearances. He tossed three complete games (including a shutout) and struck out 43 (vs. only 13 walks) in 81 innings of work. In OVC-only games (8 starts), Stephens was 5-0 with a 2.09 E.R.A. in 56 innings of work. That E.R.A. was fourth-best in league-only games. Closer Kyle Nichols recorded seven saves and a 3.00 E.R.A. in 23 appearances during the regular season. As the No. 2 seed, Samford will have a bye through Wednesday’s first round and will play at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
Southeast Missouri (23-24, 12-13 OVC): Southeast Missouri played five games last week, splitting a two-game non-conference series with Central Arkansas and losing two of three OVC games at Morehead State. The Redhawks lost the opener at MSU (10-8) but rebounded to win game two 9-6 before allowing four runs in the ninth inning to lose 13-12 in 10 innings on Saturday. But the win on Friday was enough to secure a tournament spot for Southeast, the program’s 14th consecutive OVC Tournament appearance. That set a new OVC record for consecutive tournament berths, breaking the record of 13 previously held by Eastern Kentucky (1981-93). Southeast has made the tournament in every year that Mark Hogan was been the program’s head coach. Hogan is just five wins shy of 800 for his career (27 seasons at three total schools). After losing two of three at Morehead, the Redhawks ended up as the No. 6 seed, marking the second time in three years they will enter the tournament in that position. Southeast’s offense has been hot lately, as the team has tallied double-digit hits in five of its last six games and scored eight or more runs in five of its last six as well. Over that span SEMO has totaled 51 runs and is hitting .332 as a team. Junior OF Tyrell Cummings has reached base safely in 30 straight games dating back to March 21. He has a base hit in 28 of those 30 contests and is batting .341 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI this season. Last week sophomore Jim Klocke hit .450 (9-for-20) with seven runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs and 12 RBI. He extended his streak of games safely reaching base to 17. The Redhawks will open up play in the tournament on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. when they play No. 3 seed Austin Peay.
Tennessee Tech (33-21-1, 13-14 OVC): Despite entering the final weekend of play with 31 overall win on the season (one of three OVC teams with 30 or more wins this season), Tennessee Tech had not yet locked up an OVC Tournament berth. With three games against No. 2 seed Samford, the Golden Eagles did just what they needed to do - win. Tech dropped the opener 5-3 but bounced back to win game two 4-2 and game three 7-6 to lock up the team’s 11th OVC Tournament appearance and first since the 2003 season. Matt Mihoci hit .625 (5-for-8) with two doubles and two RBI in the Samford series while Chris King added three hits and two RBI. Mihoci finished the regular season ranked eighth in the OVC in batting average (.359) while King ranked third (.395). On the mound, Michael Alcorn tossed a complete game in game two of the series. Alcorn allowed four hits and two runs while striking out seven of seven innings. Alcorn is now 7-4 with a 4.40 E.R.A. on the season. He leads the team with five complete games. His numbers were even better in OVC games, as Alcorn had a 3.17 E.R.A. in nine starts; in those games he had a 6-3 record and struck out 40 in 54 innings of work. As the No. 5 seed in the OVC Tournament, Tech will open play with No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
UT Martin (10-41, 5-20 OVC): UT Martin concluded its season with four losses last week, dropping a non-conference game at Belmont and then losing three at home to OVC Champion Jacksonville State. UTM finished the season 10-41 overall and 5-20 in Conference play. The 10 overall wins were the fewest in a season since 2001 when the team won eight. The Skyhawks struggled this year when opponents scored more than 10 runs in a game, as UT Martin was 2-25 in those contests. Senior Chris Rezabek ended his four-year UTM career with three hits in his final game. Only one Skyhawk played in every game this season - 2B Scott Gladstone. Gladstone led the team with a .316 batting average. Twins Mark (.302) and Miles Hartsfield (.300) also hit above .300 for the year. Freshman Wes Patterson led the squad with 10 home runs. On the mound Calen Sutton finished the season with a winning record (4-3) and 4.92 E.R.A. in 71.1 innings of work.
Other Notes From Around the League
OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: The 2008 OVC Baseball Tournament will be held at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky. It marks the eight consecutive year the event has been held at the historic ballpark...This year marks the 30th OVC Tournament, with the first elimination-style event held in 1979; prior to 1979 the winner of each of the OVC’s two divisions played in a best-of-three game playoff to determine the OVC Champion...Preseason favorite Jacksonville State proved the voters correct as they completed the OVC season with a 23-4 record and garnered the regular season title and No. 1 seed in this week’s event...Samford, in its last year in the league, earned the No. 2 seed, its fourth appearance in the event...Defending Champion Austin Peay is the No. 3 seed and is making its 20th tournament appearance, second most all-time (behind EKU’s 25)...No. 4 Eastern Illinois is back in the event after a one-year break...No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech is making its first appearance since 2004...Southeast Missouri State is making its OVC-record 14th straight tournament appearance...Austin Peay head coach Gary McClure moved into a tie for second place on the OVC All-Time Victories List, winning his 628th game as APSU head coach last week; he is now tied with EKU’s Jim Ward and is 148 wins behind all-time leader Johnny Reagan.
Jacksonville State Has the Nation’s Longest Winning Streak: Following its three-game sweep of UT Martin this past weekend, Jacksonville State has a 16-game winning streak, which is tied for the longest active streak in the nation among Division I teams. The Gamecocks have not lost since a 10-3 loss to Troy on April 23. JSU is tied with LSU for the longest streak; LSU beat New Orleans on May 20, ending UNO’s 13-game streak, which had been the longest in the nation. The 16-game winning streak is the longest for JSU in its Division I Era. UNC-Wilmington’s 22-game winning streak earlier this season is the longest among Division I teams. JSU has also won nine straight road games, which is the longest streak nationally (ahead of Siena who has won 7 straight).
Southeast Missouri State Makes Record 14th Straight OVC Tournament Appearance: Southeast Missouri State is appearing in its 14th straight OVC Tournament in 2008, which is a new OVC record for consecutive appearances. The Redhawks have made the event in each of head coach Mark Hogan’s years on the bench. Southeast broke the previous record of 13 straight appearances by Eastern Kentucky from 1981-93.
Whittemore Named NCBWA and Ping! Baseball National Player of the Week: Jacksonville State OF Clay Whittemore was named National Player of the Week on May 5 by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Ping! Baseball.
Whittemore raised his batting average 42 points during the week after going 15-for-21 for a .714 batting average in helping the Gamecocks extend their winning streak to seven games. He finished with four doubles, four home runs and eight runs batted in and now leads the Gamecocks with a .401 batting average. The Cullman, Ala., native posted three straight games with four hits and then had three hits in the series finale on Sunday at Morehead State.
Friedrich Named to Dick Howser Trophy Watch List: Eastern Kentucky junior pitcher Christian Friedrich has been named to the 2008 Dick Howser Trophy Watch List, given annually to college baseball’s premier player. The list, composed of 50 players, was released April 24 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA). A preseason All-American, Friedrich is rated by Baseball America as the sixth-best MLB prospect in college baseball. The southpaw from Evanston, Ill. has already been named a finalist for the Brooks Wallace and Roger Clemens Awards, and was voted the 2008 preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year earlier this year. The membership of the NCBWA will choose the Dick Howser Trophy based on three rounds of voting. The 2008 winner will be announced at the College World Series in Omaha on Saturday, June 14, at 10:00 a.m. CDT. The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball’s most prestigious award.
Victories Over Ranked Opponents: Southeast Missouri State scored the OVC’s first victory over a ranked opponent in 2008 with a 12-8 win over No. 6 Vanderbilt on April 2. OVC teams are now 1-6 against nationally-ranked teams this season. Last season the OVC compiled a 9-22 record against nationally-ranked foes, including a Tennessee Tech victory over No. 13 Alabama and a two-game sweep of No. 13 Mississippi State by Austin Peay.
APSU’s Cunningham Ties OVC Record For Hits in a Game: Austin Peay junior Chad Cunningham tied the OVC record for hits in a game in a 26-4 win over Morehead State on April 5. Cunningham was 6-for-7 at the plate in the Govs victory. He tied a mark that is also held by eight other players.
Coaching Milestones: UT Martin head coach Bubba Cates became the latest OVC coach to reach a career milestone when he won his 400th career game on April 26. Earlier in that week Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga also hit a milestone, as he reached his 100 career victory. Also this season Jacksonville State head coach Jim Case won his 200th career game, Samford coach Casey Dunn won his 100th career game and Mark Hogan won his 400th game at Southeast Missouri. Hogan may reach another milestone this season as he needs five more wins to reach 800 overall for his career. Murray State head coach Rob McDonald needs only one win to reach 100 for his career.
Whittemore Named Candidate for Lowe’s Senior Class Award: Jacksonville State outfielder Clay Whittemore is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, which is awarded to a senior baseball player who excels both on and off the field. Presented annually to NCAA Division I student-athletes in eight sports, the award focuses on the "Four C’s" of classroom, character, community and competition. Whittemore was named the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference pre-season Player of the Year and is also a pre-season All-American by Collegiate Baseball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility and pursue their degree. Since that time, Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, has expanded the award to include other NCAA sports including baseball. From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in mid-April. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Whittemore becomes the first player in Ohio Valley Conference history to be listed as one of the 30 Baseball Nominees.
Jacksonville State Picked as Preseason Favorite: In a preseason vote of league head coaches, Jacksonville State was picked as the favorite in the 10-team OVC. The Gamecocks finished second in both the regular season and tournament last season. The overall voting for the preseason poll was balanced and close, as three teams received first-place votes and only two points separated the favorite, Jacksonville State, from second-place, defending champion Austin Peay. Jacksonville State received four of the first-place votes and 76 total points, which put them ahead of the Governors, who actually received one more first-place vote (5 in total) but finished two points behind the Gamecocks in their overall points total (74). Eastern Kentucky received the other first place vote and was predicted to finish third (61 points). The Colonels were followed closely by Southeast Missouri State, who was picked fourth (59), and Samford, who was predicted to place fifth (55). Eastern Illinois was tabbed sixth (38), followed by Murray State in seventh (30), Tennessee Tech in eighth (29), Morehead State in ninth (15) and UT Martin in 10th (13).
Whittemore and Friedrich Named Preseason OVC Player/Pitcher of the Year: In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head baseball coaches Jacksonville State senior outfielder Clay Whittemore was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year while Eastern Kentucky junior left-handed pitcher Christian Friedrich was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Whittemore claimed the Player of the Year award at the end of last season after hitting .391 with 93 hits, 53 runs and 69 RBI in 60 games. Whittemore was named a preseason All-American by several outlets (including Collegiate Baseball News) and is one of three OVC players on the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Watch List. Friedrich compiled a 5-4 record and 2.09 ERA in 81.2 innings pitched last season. He also tossed three complete games, limited opponents to a .155 batting average and struck out 101 batters. He also enjoyed a successful summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League where he compiled a 4-1 record, 2.68 ERA and struck out 52 in 37.0 innings of work (7 starts). Friedrich is also on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List and has been named a preseason All-American.
OVC Players in the Pros: Entering the 2008 season, there were four players from OVC schools on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters. Those players include: Jacksonville State’s Todd Jones (Detroit), Morehead State’s Jon Rauch (Washington), Austin Peay’s George Sherrill (Baltimore) and Jaime Walker (Baltimore). Samford’s Ehren Wassermann (Chicago White Sox) made his season debut a few weeks later. Two other players - Eastern Kentucky’s Josh Anderson (Atlanta); and Jacksonville State’s Bill White (Texas) were on MLB rosters to end last season but are starting the season in the minors but are expected to be called up later this season.