Horizon League players earn All-Mideast Region honors

June 13, 2006

Athens, Ohio - Five Horizon League representatives were among 26 players honored Tuesday as the NCAA Mideast Region All-American Committee announced the 2006 ABCA & Rawlings NCAA All-Mideast Region teams.

UIC was the only school in the region to have two players named to the First-Team, with senior outfielder Bart Babineaux and senior catcher Justin Johnson earning spots on the top unit. UW-Milwaukee senior outfielder Mike Goetz completed the trio of First-Team picks from the League, while UIC junior pitcher Zach Peterson and Wright State junior reliever Joe Smith earning Second-Team honors.

Babineaux led the Horizon League in two of the three Triple Crown categories, belting 18 home runs while driving in 65 RBI. His home run and RBI outputs were both UIC single-season school records. The senior hit .340 (67-for-197) in 54 games, slugging .695 and stealing a team-leading 10 bases in the process.

Johnson was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in last week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft after hitting .395 (73-for-185) in 50 contests to go with a career-best 11 home runs and 57 RBI. The left-handed hitting catcher led the Horizon League in slugging percentage with a .703 clip.

Goetz was the 2006 Horizon League Player of the Year and currently leads the nation with a .493 batting average. A 25th-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in last week's MLB draft, he set UWM single-season records in batting average, on-base percentage (.579), hits (111), doubles (23), triples (6-tie), total bases (155) and walks (41-tie). In addition to the nation's best average, he also tops the country with his .579 on-base percentage.

Peterson went 9-3 in 15 starts in 2006, posting a 2.42 ERA. The junior right-hander won the League's Pitching Triple Crown, pacing the circuit in wins, ERA and strikeouts (73) while also topping the loop charts with 107.2 innings pitched and four complete games. He anchored a pitching staff which led the League in team ERA on the way to a fifth consecutive regular-season League title and a 35-20 overall ledger.

The 2006 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, Smith was a third-round selection by the New York Mets in last week's First-Year Player Draft after leading the Raiders to their best record in five years (32-27) and the Horizon League Championship. WSU qualified for the NCAA Championship tournament for the first time since 1994, outscoring opponents 52-5 in four tournament games to capture the loop tourney pennant.

Smith registered a 3-1 record and a League-high 13 saves in 2006, allowing only six earned runs in 55 innings for a 0.98 ERA. The sidewinding right-hander did not allow a run in 28.1 innings in League play, and permitted only 34 hits (five for extra bases) while holding all opposing batters to an average of .179 this season.

Goetz was one of four conference Players of the Year cited on the All-Mideast Region squad, joining Ohio State's Ronnie Borquin (Big Ten), Notre Dame's Craig Cooper (Big East), Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Mike Goetz (Horizon League) and Kent State's Emmanuel Burriss (Mid-American). The group also included four pitchers of the year in their respective leagues in Smith, Northwestern's Dan Brauer (Big Ten), Eastern Michigan's Jeff Fischer (Mid-American) and Notre Dame's Jeff Manship (Big East).

Only the MAC (ten) and Big Ten (seven) had more All-Mideast selections than the Horizon League's five. Twelve of the 26 members of the two teams were selected in the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last week.

The 13 All-Mideast Region First Team honorees will be eligible to earn ABCA & Rawlings All-America status. The national All-America squads will be selected at the College World Series, which begins in Omaha, Neb., at Rosenblatt Stadium this weekend.

2006 ABCA & Rawlings All-Mideast Region Teams

First-Team
P - Dan Brauer, Northwestern, Jr.-*
P - Jeff Fischer, Eastern Michgan, So.
P - Jeff Manship, Notre Dame, Jr.-*
RP - Matt German, Northern Illinois, Jr.
C - Justin Johnson, UIC, Sr.-*
1B - Brad Miller, Ball State, Sr.-*
2B - Eric Lawson, Bowling Green, Jr.
3B - Ronnie Borquin, Ohio State, Jr.-*
SS - Emmanuel Burriss, Kent State, Jr.-*
OF - Bart Babineaux, UIC, Sr.
OF - Mike Goetz, UW-Milwaukee, Sr.-*
OF - Bryan Mitzel, Central Michigan, Jr.
DH - Anthony Gressic, Ohio, Sr.-*

Second-Team
P - Dan DeLucia, Ohio State, Jr.
Zach Peterson, UIC, Jr.
P - Chad Wagler, Kent State, Sr.-*
RP - Joe Smith, Wright State, Jr.-*
C - Eric Fryer, Ohio State, So.
1B - Craig Cooper, Notre Dame, Sr.-*
2B - Keith Haas, Indiana, Jr.
3B - Andrew Davis, Kent State, Jr.
SS - Mitch Hilligoss, Purdue, Jr.-
OF - Matt Angle, Ohio State, So.
OF - Mark Chagnon, Eastern Illinois, Jr.
OF - Kurt Eichorn, Kent State, Sr.
DH - Brendan Murphy, Marshall, Jr.

* - denotes players selected in 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft