Pierce

Winning a game for the first time at the College World Series isn’t supposed to easy.

Just ask Kent State.

The Golden Flashes survived shaky relief pitching to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning and beat Florida 5-4 on Monday. The loss eliminated the top-seeded Gators, who made it to the finals a year ago.

“It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the end,” Kent State coach Scott Stricklin said. “It was gut-wrenching no matter who you were rooting for. Even if you weren’t rooting for anybody, that was tough to watch. But we found a way. That’s what this team has done all year long, and we’re still here.”

The Flashes (47-19) bounced back from an 8-1 loss to Arkansas to post what Stricklin called the biggest win in program history.

“We belong here,” he said. “That’s the most important thing that we wanted as a team, as a program and as a university was to make a statement that we belong here. We’re not a fluke. We’re a really good baseball team.”

Kent State scored four unearned runs and another on a wild pitch, then held on as Florida chipped away at the lead with a run in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh.

The Gators loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against Michael Clark and Josh Pierce, an Avon graduate. 

Pierce fought back from a 3-0 count to strike out Casey Turgeon when Turgeon couldn’t check his swing and got called out on an appeal to the third-base umpire. Justin Shafer flew out to right to end the game, with Pierce pumping his right fist once the ball landed in right fielder T.J. Sutton’s glove.

“It’s an unfortunate way to end the season, but I think Kent State deserves a lot of credit for the way they played today,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “They hung in there, got a big strikeout at the end, and our guys hung in there right to the last out. So we have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Courtesy of Associated Press

Arkansas’ DJ Baxendale bounced back from one of his worst starts of the year to turn in his best.

The junior right-hander held Kent State hitless into the fifth inning and combined with Brandon Moore on a four-hitter Saturday in the Razorbacks’ 8-1 victory that spoiled the Golden Flashes’ first appearance in the College World Series.
Baxendale’s performance was a lot different than his previous outing, when he was hit for five runs in four innings in an 8-1 loss to Baylor in the super regionals.

“Against Baylor, I really felt like I let the team down,” Baxendale said. “To come out here at this stage and be able to get us a victory in Game 1, it was huge for not only my confidence but I think for the team’s as well. We know any time you can win the first game, it just keeps building off that.”

Baxendale and Moore got some unexpected help from the bottom of the lineup. No. 9 batter Jake Wise homered for the first time since February and also hit a two-run single. No. 8 batter Matt Vinson hit a two-run double that gave Arkansas (45-20) a 5-1 lead in the sixth.

“My 3 and 4 holers didn’t get a hit today and we scored eight runs. Somebody got it going,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “That’s a good sign.”

Kent State (46-19), the first team from the Mid-American Conference to make it to the CWS since Eastern Michigan in 1976, couldn’t get much going against Baxendale.

Baxendale didn’t allow a hit until Sawyer Polen’s infield single with two out in the fifth. He held the Flashes scoreless until Jimmy Rider homered in the sixth.

“DJ Baxendale was outstanding,” Kent State coach Scott Stricklin said. “He kept us off balance. His fastball was sharp and he throws the breaking ball when he’s behind in the count. He really competes.”

courtesy of Associated Press

Kent State became the first team to advance from the Mid-American Conference to the NCAA Regional Championship and a berth in the national tournament’s round of 16 known as the Super Regionals.
 
Ranked No. 25 in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the Golden Flashes (44-17) ran their nation-long winning streak to 20 games – including seven in the post-season – courtesy of the victory over Kentucky (45-18). The 2012 MAC Regular Season and Tournament champions, Kent State has won 35 of its last 42 games – including 24 of 26. The Flashes won a wire-to-wire regular season title and followed it up by going a perfect 4-0 in the MAC Tournament to clinch their fourth straight conference tournament crown.

Kent State, the regional’s No. 3 seed, advanced to its second straight NCAA Regional Winner’s Bracket Final by outlasting Kentucky, 7-6, in 21 innings in the regional opener Friday (June 1) – the second-longest game in the history of the NCAA Tournament – then knocked off the regional host and top seed, No. 16 Purdue, 7-3, Saturday (June 2).

The Golden Flashes now will travel to Eugene, Ore., to square off with No. 10 Oregon next weekend (June 8-11) in a best-of-three-games NCAA Super Regional series at PK Park.

 

Perkins graduate Matt Hoty was among seven athletes from Tennessee to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Hoty followed his indoor qualification in the men’s shot put with a trip to nationals outdoors. The first-year performer, though, made it by the slimmest of margins, punching out a throw of 59-10 1/2 on his first attempt that withstood the next five rounds of throws from his competitors. We wound up with the 12th and final qualifying spot.

“The first throw, I came out and said `I’m going to give it what I’ve got,’ and I hung on from there,” Hoty said. “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown my best throw with my first attempt, so it was kind of nerve-racking holding on the entire time.”


Hoty earned second team All-American honors in the event during the indoor season. 

Lorain's Breanna Fortney has chosen The College of Brockport to continue her basketball career. She signed her letter of intent this past Wednesday at Lorain High School's auditorium.

This past season, Fortney made the All-Lorain County First Team in Division I.
 

She averaged 12.6 points per game this season, and helped lead the Titans to a 17-5 mark and the district semifinal where they lost to Westlake. She also was an All-Lake Erie League First Teamer. 

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Lorain's Preshus Hawthorne has decided to continue her basketball career at Hiram College. She signed her letter of intent this past Wednesday at Lorain High School's auditorium.

Hawthorne was an All-Lorain County Honorable Mention this past season. 

She helped lead the Titans to a 17-5 mark and the district semifinal where they lost to Westlake. She also was an All-Lake Erie League selection. 

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Lorain's Madison Stoyka has decided to continue her basketball career at Wayne State. She signed her letter of intent this past Wednesday at Lorain High School's auditorium. 

This past season, Stoyka made the All-Lorain County First Team in Division I.
 

She averaged 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game this season, and helped lead the Titans to a 17-5 mark and the district semifinal where they lost to Westlake. She also was an All-Lake Erie League First Teamer. 

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Perkins graduate Amy Schlessman, a Kenyon College junior, represented the Ladies tennis team at the NCAA Division III individual championship. Schlessman was one of 32 players from throughout the country selected to participate in the singles tournament, and she advanced to the Sweet 16 before being knocked out. 

 

Playing at Cary Tennis Park, Schlessman handled Amy Friesenhahn from the University of Texas-Tyler in the opening round. Schlessman breezed through the first set, 6-0, and won the second set by a solid, 6-2, margin.

The win sent Schlessman on to the round of 16, where she squared off against Emory University's Gabrielle Clark, the No. 1-ranked player in the Atlantic South region. Schlessman tried to keep pace but ultimately fell by a 6-1, 6-1 final.

For Schlessman, it was her first appearance in the national singles bracket. She became the first Lady to win a match in the championship, and therefore qualify for All-America status, since Ashley Kriwinsky in 2006. She had a berth in the doubles championship under her belt, which came with Prita Kidder during the 2010 season, and also resulted in an All-America nod.

Schlessman concludes the campaign with a 14-10 record in singles play and owns a 48-25 mark for her career.

Perkins graduate Cory Leslie, along with Adam Green and Antonio Blanks, all of Ohio State, advanced to the NCAA championships with impressive performances Friday evening at the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla., highlighting day two at Hodges Stadium for the Ohio State men’s track and field team.

Leslie ran the fifth-fastest times of the 3000m steeplechase preliminary to move on to next month’s national championships in Des Moines. Leslie placed second in his heat in a time of 8:41.95. Eastern Kentucky’s Ben Torotich posted the top time of the 12 championship qualifiers, crossing the finish line in 8:37.03.

Midview's Eric Lauer has verbally committed to accept a baseball scholarship to the University of Kentucky, a NCAA Division I school in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

“I picked Kentucky because it is close to home and because they are members of the SEC, one of the best baseball conferences in the country,” Lauer said through a press release.  “I liked everything about it, including the fact it is a strong academic school.  It is a weight off my shoulders.”

Lauer, who is 5-1 on the season, has struck out 93 batters in 44 1/3  innings pitched. The lefthander has started for the Middies since his freshman year and is 9-3 overall with 161 career strikeouts. 

“Eric has worked incredibly hard to get to this point and is very deserving of such an honor,” Midview Head Baseball Coach John Justice said. “He has been a major part of our team’s success since his freshman season, including this year’s conference championship. I know that I am extremely proud of Eric and so are the rest of his coaches, teammates and his family. I look forward to seeing Eric in Middie Blue in 2013 and Wildcat Blue in 2014.”

Lauer, who has a accumulative GPA of 3.75 and is ranked 33 out of 283 in his class at Midview, chose Kentucky, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation (as high as #1 during the 2012 season), over Georgia Tech, Kent State, Louisville, and Ohio State.

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Perkins graduate Matt Hoty, who red-shirted last season at Tennessee after breaking his wrist in his senior season at Perkins, has rediscovered the magic formula at just the right time to match his SEC Indoor finish in the men’s shot put with a third place result outdoors.

The 6-3, 300-pounder unloaded a blast of 60 feet, 10 inches to improve his UT freshman outdoor record in the event and deliver his squad six points.

This year, he made the 2012 USTFCCCA Indoor All-America Second Team and was a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team. In Indoors, he qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet and finished 15th in the shot put with a mark of 59-10 1/2.

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Perkins graduate Amy Schlessman, from Kenyon College, was selected by the NCAA Women's Tennis Committee, along with 31 other players throughout the nation, to compete in the 2012 NCAA Division III Singles Championship Tournament.

Although the singles tournament will be new to Schlessman, she did make the 2010 NCAA doubles field, won her first match, and earned All-America status along with teammate Prita Kidder.

Schlessman, the Ladies' No. 1 singles player for the last two seasons, has a 13-9 record this year and a 47-24 record for her career. 

According to the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, she is ranked as the No. 8 singles player in the Central Region.

The singles championships will be held May 24-26 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina. The selection of individuals for the championship was based on won-lost record, strength of schedule, and eligibility and availability of student-athletes. While the field is set, the draw for the championship bracket will be completed by the NCAA Women's Tennis Committee one day before the tournament begins.

Perkins graduate Cory Leslie ran a personal-best time of 3:39.00 to win Section II of the 1500m Sunday evening at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

In posting the second-fastest time in Ohio State history and the third-best mark in Division I this season, Leslie placed 12th overall among 73 of the top distance runners in the United States, winning his 12-person race in the process. Teammate Chris Fallon ran a personal-best time of his own (3:45.51), finishing third in the Section IV run.

North Ridgeville's Jordan White was just selected 244th in the seventh round by the New York Jets.

White, set Western Michigan's single game record for receiving yards (265) and set new MAC career receiving yards (4,187), single season receiving yards (1,911) and tied for career receptions (306).

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard was signed by the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4 forward completed her Florida State career as the only player in school history to rank among the top 10 on the career record lists for scoring, rebounding, blocks and games played.

A 2011 WBCA Honorable Mention All-America selection, Bravard led the Seminoles with 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.0 percent from the floor during her senior season. It marked her third-consecutive season leading the team in scoring average and shooting percentage.

A two-time All-ACC honoree, Bravard played in all 131 games during her collegiate career, averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game with a 54.0 shooting percentage.

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Amherst graduate Kyle Hagerich, a freshman, had the biggest pinch-hit of his career when he blasted his second home run of the season, a three-run blast to left field as Mercyhurst exploded for double-digit run totals in each game of Friday afternoon’s doubleheader at Slippery Rock, winning by scores of 10-0 and 19-6. 

Hagerich's homer was off fellow Amherst graduate Tony Naso. 

Mercyhurst improved to 28-9 overall and 10-4 in PSAC West action. 

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Admiral King graduate Jillian Van Wagnen, who made the Ohio University softball team as a walk-on as a freshman, is leading the Bobcats with a .392 batting average.

The senior has played in all 35 games and averages over one hit per game. She also has two doubles, two triples, along with 11 RBIs. She has stolen 23 bases and has scored 24 runs.

Last year, as a junior, she made the MAC All-Tournament team and Academic All-MAC team. She started in 48 of 49 games in centerfield. She finished with 22 runs, 27 hits, seven RBIs and a triple. She also led the team with 22 stolen bases.

As a sophomore, she started 29 games and batted .316. She had 18 hits, three RBIs, and two doubles. She also shared the team-lead lead for stolen bases.

Her freshman season, she started in 27 games after making the team as a walk-on. She batted .290. She was also warded the team’s Wendy Fox Award, given to the player who exhibits the most drive to succeed.

At Admiral King, she was Lorain County’s Miss Softball (2008) after batting .535 with eight home runs, 33 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. She also lettered in tennis (four years), cross country (two years), basketball (four years), golf (two years) and softball (four years). 

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Clearview’s Ian Mezlak hit a grand slam and drove in a season-high six RBIs, leading Ohio University to a 19-10 victory and a series sweep over Northern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field.

Mezlak went 2-for-3 and hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh inning.

For the season, Mezlak is batting .278 (30-for-108) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and 14 RBIs.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Vermilion's Robert Lear has selected Heidelberg University to continue his education, play football and wrestle.

Lear is a three-year letter winner in football and four-year letter winner in wrestling.   

As a senior in 2011-12, Lear won the football team's Sportsmanship, Captain and Craig Reed awards and garnered the Sportsmanship Award in wrestling as a freshman in 2008-09.     

This past season, he was the West Shore Conference's heavyweight champion, qualified for the district championships and earned the Steve Mustard Award.   

As a junior in 2010-11, Lear was a second-team All-WSC performer and district alternate while earning the Captain and Baguba awards.

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Monroeville’s Logan Stieber, a red-shirted freshman, won the 133-pound NCAA Wrestling National championship Saturday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis Mo.

The second-seeded Stieber defeated No.1 seed and defending national champion Jordan Oliver, of Oklahoma State, 4-3.

The match began with Oliver gaining a quick takedown 17 seconds into the match. However, Stieber escaped 10 seconds later to make the score 2-1. With 30 seconds left in the first period, it appeared Stieber was going to earn his first takedown of the match as he was able to hoist Oliver into a one-legged position, but Oliver battled out and the score remained 2-1.

In the second period, Stieber chose bottom and was able to escape eight seconds later, deadlocking the score at 2-2. After more than a minute of wrestling, Stieber was again able to force Oliver into a one-legged position, but this time he scored the takedown and sent the Ohio State crowd into a frenzy. Stieber earned the takedown with 20 seconds left in the second period, making the score 4-2.

Oliver started the third period on bottom and was able to escape in 20 seconds, making the national championship a one point affair. Stieber fought off numerous blows from Oliver during the next minute and a half, refusing to give up a point. With 10 seconds remaining, Oliver shot at Stieber and was able to get him around the waist. Stieber stood strong and completed the upset.

Overall, Ohio State boasted four All-Americans, tied for the second most in school history. The All-Americans for the Buckeyes were Logan Stieber, first place at 133 pounds, Cam Tessari, also a Monroeville graduate, fourth place at 149 pounds, Nick Heflin, fifth at 174 pounds and Logan’s brother Hunter Stieber, sixth at 141 pounds. Ohio State also set a team record for freshmen All-Americans with three (L. Stieber, H. Stieber and Cam Tessari) Monroeville graduates.

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Elyria’s Megan Bashak blasted a two-run home run in the seventh inning to beat Rutgers, 5-3 in Cleveland State’s third game of the Georgia Bulldog Invitaitonal on Saturday.

The win was just the Vikings second on the season, improving them to 2-11.

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Westlake’s Kalpana Beach scored 12 points for No. 2 seed Ohio State as the Buckeyes held off a late charge to beat Michigan 57-48 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten women’s tournament on Friday.

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Avon's Ross Douglas, one of the top 2013 high school football prospects in the country, tweeted Wednesday night that he had verbally committed to Penn State.

Douglas, ranked No. 242 on Rivals.com’s Top 250 players, is the second player to commit to Penn State’s class of 2013.

Douglas also had offers from Maryland, Boston College, Tennesse and Louisville. He had 15 touchdowns as a junior and helped lead Avon to their first state football championship appearance in school history.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Monroeville’s Hunter Stieber, a freshman wrestler at Ohio State, was named Big Ten’s Wrestler of the Week.

Stieber defeated Iowa’s Montell Marion, 4-2 and helped the Buckeyes to upset over No. 2 Iowa, 21-9 last Friday.

Stieber limited Marion, a two-time senior All-American, to just two escapes in the match.

With the win, Stieber improved to 18-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Matthew Hoty was recognized for his performance over the weekend at the Auburn Invitational. The Southeastern Conference announced on Tuesday that Hoty was chosen SEC Men’s Freshman of the Week.

Hoty, a redshirt freshman, broke his week-old UT freshman indoor record in the men’s shot put. He did so by stretching the tape to 60-0 1/4 to finish second at the Auburn Invitational behind defending SEC Outdoor champion Stephen Saenz of Auburn.

After making a victorious college debut last weekend at the Kentucky Invitational and snapping Chip Kell’s 1968 Vol rookie record of 58-7 by a half inch, Hoty improved his ranking this week from 12th to ninth on UT’s all-time performers list in that event. He ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 15 nationally at this point in the season.

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Monroeville’s Logan Stieber, a redshirt freshman on Ohio State’s wrestling team, was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week.

This is Stieber’s third-career weekly honor. Stieber shares the award with Penn State’s Ed Ruth.

Stieber pinned Purdue’s Cashé Quiroga in 1:12 to record his team-leading 10th pin of the season en route to the Buckeyes’ 27-10 win in St. John Arena Jan. 12.

With an 18-1 overall record, including a 3-1 conference ledger, Stieber has scored bonus points in 15 of his matches. Stieber, ranked fourth in the country at 133 pounds, also boasts a 9-1 dual record.

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North Ridgeville's Jordan White helped his NFL Draft status with 13 catches and 249 receiving yards, including a 49-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter of the Pizza Bowl, as Western Michigan lost to Purdue, 37-32 on Tuesday night.

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Elyria’s Honesty King scored a career high 20 points in a 74-63 loss at Ole Miss on Wednesday.

King's 20 points against the Rebels came after an 8-for-13 night from the field (.615), including a 4-for-7 mark from behind the arc (.571). King, who has 12 three-pointers on the season, has now posted at least four in a contest three times throughout her career.

King scored 16 points in the first half as the Vikings trailed by two, 38-36, at the intermission.

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Westlake’s Kalpana Beach started and scored six points, while Tayler Hill scored 16 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and No. 11 Ohio State beat Charlotte 88-58 on Monday as the Buckeyes improved to their best start in program history in the NCAA era.

Samantha Prahalis added 19 points and reserve forward Darryce Moore finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Buckeyes (11-0), who have won 22 of 23 dating to last season.

The Buckeyes showed little signs of fatigue from a red-eye flight Saturday night after their 77-75 win at California. They jumped out to a 44-14 lead on the heels of a 17-0 run in the opening half.

The Buckeyes have little time to rest as they take to the court Tuesday against Southern Utah. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Value City Arena.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Huron’s Sara Sage had six decisive kills in the final set to help lead UCLA to its first NCAA women’s volleyball title in 20 years on Saturday, defeating Illinois, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-16.

Junior outside hitter Rachael Kidder’s 20 kills and freshman Zoe Nightingale’s inspired play at the net made the difference for the Bruins, who have won four women’s volleyball NCAA titles overall. Kidder was selected most valuable player of the Final Four; Nightingale, teammate Lauren Van Orden and USC’s Alex Jupiter were named to the all-Final Four team.

The win gives UCLA 108 NCAA championships in all sports, more than any other school. The Bruins’ previous NCAA women’s volleyball titles were in 1984, 1990 and ‘91.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Monroeville’s Logan Stieber was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week, sharing the honor with Iowa’s Tony Ramos.

This past weekend at the 30th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational, Stieber recorded a 5-0 record en route to winning the 133-pound title. Stieber played a vital role in helping the Buckeyes win the team championship.

Stieber was one of seven freshmen to headline the Buckeyes’ successful weekend. On the first day of the tournament, Stieber posted three consecutive pins. Of those, Stieber pinned Harvard’s Steven Keith, while in the semifinals on day two, he recorded a major decision vs. Michigan’s Zach Stevens before winning the title on a 10-5 decision vs. Edinboro’s Aaron Schopp. Stieber remains undefeated on the season with a 13-0 overall record and 4-0 dual mark.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

North Ridgeville's Jordan White became the first Western Michigan football student-athlete to be named a Walter Camp Football Foundation All-American as he earned second team honors.

White was also named American Football Coaches Association All-America earlier this week and needs to be named All-America by either the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America or the Sporting News to be considered WMU's first Consensus All-American.

White joins Biletnikoff Award finalists Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State), Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma) and Robert Woods (USC) on the All-America team, leading his fellow All-America team members in every NCAA statistical category except total receiving TDs in 2011.

White is just 110 receiving yards from becoming the Mid-American Conference's career record holder and needs 125 yards to become the MAC's single-season record holder. He already owns all but three receiving records in WMU program history.

The sixth year wide receiver and the rest of the Western Michigan Broncos will take on Purdue in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 27 at 4:30 at Ford Field.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke and five other Baldwin-Wallace teammates were named to the 2011 Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference squad.

O’Rourke, who carries a 3.65 grade point average in education, is earning his first Academic All-OAC honor. He is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, Dean’s List and was a Capital One Academic All-District IV selection.

O’Rourke has been the starting quarterback for the past two seasons and served as one of four team captains this season. This season, he completed 129 of 221 passes for 1,611 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. O’Rourke also has rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown.

For his career, he has completed 248 of 434 passes for 57.1 percent for 3,124 yards with 28 touchdowns. O’Rourke has been twice selected as the OAC Offensive Player of the Week.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Lake Erie College will recognize former Storm baseball All-American Ryan Rua, of Amherst, on Thursday night, Dec. 1, at halftime of the men’s basketball Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Wayne State.

After a spectacular three-year career which saw Rua set school records and become one of the top players in the region, Rua was drafted in the 17^th round of June’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Texas Rangers.

He became the first Storm player to be drafted.

“Ryan obviously was a special player for us and now is a tremendous example and ambassador for our program,” said Storm manager Brian McGee. “When he came into the program, we thought he could be a special player. He became even more than the player we thought or dreamed he could be. We are very proud of how hard he has worked to accomplish what he has accomplished and what he will continue to do in the future.”

At two different levels in the Rangers’ minor league system this summer, Rua batted .303 with four home runs and 37 RBI in 52 games. He also stole 10 bases without being caught.

At Lake Erie, Rua holds 15 career or single-season records. In his final season, prior to which he was named one of the top prospects in Division II, he hit .400 with five home runs, 44 RBI and 19 stolen bases and was a first-team All-GLIAC and NABC All-Midwest Region selection as well as a Daktronics Division II Honorable Mention All-American.

In his three-year career, Rua had a .374 average with 27 home runs and 131 RBIs. He banged out 276 hits and scored 117 runs while swiping 33 bases.

“The statistics speak for themselves,” McGee added. “But Ryan is more than the numbers. He works extremely hard to better himself and he is very cognizant of where he came from. He has been back here on campus regularly through the fall working out with the team, helping out at our fall prospects camp and it really means a lot to our players.”

McGee and other LEC dignitaries will take part in a special presentation at halftime with Rua and his family.

swalker@MorningJournal.com