Wednesday, May 6, 2009

FIVE GREYHOUND BASEBALL PLAYERS; TEAM RANKED IN NCAA DIVISION III STATISTICS;
Durso Tied for First in Nation in Doubles

INDIANAPOLIS, IN --- Five members of the Moravian College baseball squad, and the Greyhound team are ranked in the seventh NCAA Division III statistics release of the 2009 season including games through May 3rd.

Senior outfielder Joseph Durso (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brother Academy) is tied for the national lead in doubles with 23 two-baggers in a school record 61 hits in Moravian’s 41 games this season.  Durso, pictured at right, is also tied for eighth in doubles per game at 0.56, tied for 19th RBIs with 58 and tied for 43rd in RBIs per game at 1.41.

Sophomore outfielder/shortstop Jason Huber (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), pictured at left, is tied for 31st in the country in runs with a school record 54 runs scored.

Freshman first baseman Kevin O’Keefe (Alexandria, VA/Bishop Ireton HS) is 21st in the nation in RBIs per game at 1.51, and O’Keefe, pictured at right, is 18th in RBIs with a school record 59 RBIs this spring.

Senior outfielder Eric Shea (Madison, NJ/Morristown Beard HS), pictured at bottom left, is tied for 41st in the country in hit by pitch after being hit by a pitch 13 times this spring.

On the mound, freshman pitcher Brendan Close (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS), pictured at bottom right, is tied for 24th in the nation in strikeouts with a school record 78, and he is 27th in strikeouts per nine innings with an average of 10.85 and tied for 46th in victories with seven, which tied the Moravian single season record.

The Greyhounds are ranked in the top 50 in the nation in ten categories including being tied for 13th in the nation in doubles with 104 and 20th in doubles per game with an average of 2.54.  Moravian is 39th in strikeouts per nine innings with an average of 7.8, 48th in walks allowed per nine innings at 3.35, 37th in runs with 360, 48th in scoring with an average of 8.8 runs per game, tied for 41st with 17 triples, 38th in hits with 471, tied for 29th in sacrifice flies with 24 and tied for 33rd in hit by pitch with 57.

Moravian closed out its 2009 season with a record of 21-20 and participated in the 2009 Landmark Conference Championship Tournament.  The Greyhounds posted the program’s first winning season since 1997 and set the school record for victories.