A big spike in Tauchman’s production at Bradley
Fremd graduate Mike Tauchman is one of 30 national finalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, the top award for amateur baseball.
Tauchman, who plays for Bradley, is the NCAA Division I statistical leader in batting average.
The 2013 Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Tauchman continues to lead the nation with a .425 batting average and ranks fifth with a .513 on-base percentage.
Tauchman’s .425 batting average in 49 games is the best-ever by a Brave with at least 100 at-bats in a season and the best by a Valley player since Pat Magness led the league with a .464 average in 1998.
Tauchman also leads The Valley by averaging 1.1 runs scored per game and 1.9 runs produced per game (a combination of runs scored, plus runs batted in, minus home runs). He is second in the league with 28 stolen bases and his 8 outfield assists rank among the nation’s best.
Tauchman also is a semifinalist for the inaugural Gregg Olson Award, which will be presented to the nation’s “Breakout Player of the Year.”
This marks the 36th consecutive year that the award has been presented to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 30 players is narrowed to three finalists on Tuesday.
For the third year in a row, the GSA will be awarded live on the MLB Network.
On Friday, July 19, the three finalists for the award will be at the live presentation, which will air during ‘The Rundown’ at 2 p.m. (ET) and will feature interviews, video highlights and the announcement of the winner. The presentation will also be simulcast live on GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseball.com.
Women’s softball
Davenport’s KC Dunne (Buffalo Grove) was named to the first team of The National Fastpitch Coaches Association NAIA All-Region squad.
The sophomore shortstop, who was on the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic all-conference first team, finished second on the team with a .405 batting average, 42 runs and 13 doubles.
Dunne tied the single-season school-record for triples with six while posting a slugging percentage of .629 and an on-base percentage of .421.
Moranda ‘Coach of the Year’
West Carolina baseball coach Bobby Moranda, a Palatine High School graduate, was named the Southern Conference ‘Coach of the Year.’ The Catamounts won the regular-season conference title with a 23-7 record.
It was the first Southern Conference title for the storied WCU program since 2007 and moves the Catamounts back into a tie with The Citadel with 21 combined titles all-time (12 regular-season and nine tournament).
Men’s golf
Fremd senior Gibsyn Martin has committed to the men’s golf team at Concordia University. Martin has maintained a 78-stroke average for 18 holes, and a 38 stroke average for nine holes as a three-year varsity golfer.
Women’s track and field
Washington University-St. Louis junior Anna Etherington (Barrington) earned University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honors. The honor for Etherington was her fourth of the season and eighth of her career.
She broke her own school record on her way to finishing as the national runner-up in the women’s pole vault at last weekend’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in La Crosse, Wis.
She cleared 4.05 meters on her first attempt, breaking her previous school record of 4.02m set at the first outdoor meet of the season. Etherington placed fourth in the pole vault at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and also had fourth-place finishes at the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Football
Leyden wide receiver/defensive back Andrew Garcia has made a commitment to Augustana. He was an All-West Suburban Conference Gold selection this year and led coach Tom Cerasani’s Eagles (7-3) with 36 receptions for 477 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On defense, he recorded 16 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery and 1 forced fumble.
Women’s volleyball
Former Harper and University of West Florida player Andraia Leja will be playing at Benedictine University this fall.
Arlington Stallions
On the strength of tries by Bryant Morrow, Max Derry and Brandon Onori and the accurate goal kicking of Ian Stoddard, the Arlington Stallions defeated the Naperville Crusaders 19-5 to win the 2013 Illinois Middle School state championship. “Our entire coaching staff are very proud of the effort these boys have put in since early January,” said coach Dylan Farmer. “All that work resulted in this great win over an outstanding opponent.”
Northeast Elite Lions
A new youth football team has risen from what used to be the Rolling Meadows youth football program.
The Northeast Elite Lions, which will be co-sponsored by St. Viator and Rolling Meadows youth football, will begin playing this season.
The program, which currently has 70 players, will compete in the Pop Warner League. There will be an open house and registration next Monday, June 10th at Players U, 412 Business Center Drive, Mount Prospect from 6:30pm-8:30pm. For further information visit their website at www.nwelitelions.com.
See you in the fall
Sports notes is wrapping up another school year today, but will be back with more of the same in mid-September. I hope everyone has a nice summer and look forward to receiving your e-mails again this fall.