TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Junior shortstop Tim
Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Elder) was named the American
Baseball Coaches Association Mideast Region Player of the Year to
highlight four all-region honors for the Rose-Hulman baseball
program.
In addition, two Fightin' Engineer were named to the inaugural Rawlings Gold Glove Mideast Region squad.
Tepe becomes the second Rose-Hulman player to earn Regional Player of the Year accolades, joining 2008 graduate Michael Matsui who was named Pitcher of the Year.
Juniors Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill.) and Keenan Long (Park Ridge, Ill./Northwestern University) joined sophomore Chris Stemple (Mount Vernon) on the third-team all-region squad.
Juniors Andrew Bilse (Munster) and Chandler Kent (Antioch, Ill.) captured spots on the Rawlings Gold Glove Team.
Tepe established school records with 87 hits, 57 runs scored, a .792 slugging average and a 28-game hitting streak during the 2008 campaign. He also blasted seven home runs and tied for the team high with six triples.
Eitel recorded a 10-1 record and a 4.03 earned run average with 81 strikeouts in 82.2 innings of work. His season highlight was an NCAA Tournament victory against No. 4 ranked Heidelberg. Long batted .356 with school records of 11 home runs and 60 RBIs. Stemple slapped 70 hits at a .432 average with 44 runs scored and seven doubles.
On the Golden Glove side, Bilse has recorded perfect fielding in 182 attempts throughout his Fightin' Engineer career, including 81 putouts and one assist this year. Kent served as one of the infield defensive anchors for a unit that turned a school record 54 double plays this season. He committed just six errors with 38 putouts, 83 assists and 11 double plays turned.
The NCAA Division III Mideast Regional all-tournament team was also released today. Eitel and Stemple earned two of the 11 slots from the six-team event.
Rose-Hulman finished its fourth ever trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 32-14 record. The Fightin' Engineers also won the HCAC Tournament title.