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Sports News: Spring 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

THREE GREYHOUND BASEBALL PLAYERS; TEAM RANKED IN NCAA DIVISION III STATISTICS

INDIANAPOLIS, IN --- Three members of the Moravian College baseball squad, and the Greyhound team are ranked in the final NCAA Division III statistics release of the 2009 season.

Senior outfielder Joseph Durso (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brother Academy) was tied for second in the nation in doubles with 23 two-baggers in a school record 61 hits during Moravian’s 41 games this season. Durso, pictured at right, also ranked fourth nationally in doubles per game at .56, tied for 35th in RBIs at 58 and ranked at 34th for RBIs per game at 1.41.

Freshman first baseman Kevin O’Keefe (Alexandria, VA/ Bishop Ireton HS) was 16th in the nation in RBIs per game at 1.15, and O’Keefe, pictured at left, was tied for 31st for RBIs with a school record 59 RBIs this spring.

On the mound for the Greyhounds, freshman pitcher Brendan Close (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS), pictured at bottom right, was ranked 37th in the nation in strikeouts with a school record of 78, and he was 21st in strikeouts per nine innings with an average of 10.85.

The Greyhounds were ranked in the top 50 in the nation in eight categories, including being 17th in the nation in doubles per game with 2.54. Moravian was also tied for 27th in the nation in doubles with, tied at 46th for triples with 17, tied at 49th in hit by pitch with 57, and tied at 41st in sacrifice flies with 24. The team ranked 42nd in scoring with 8.8, 33rd in strikeouts per nine innings with 7.8, and 47th in walks allowed per nine innings with 3.35.

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.