FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-120-07-08
Thursday, May 8, 2008

Five Blue Jays Named All-Conference in Baseball; Sam Heaps Selected Pitcher of the Year

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Five members of the Elizabethtown College baseball team have been selected All-Commonwealth Conference, as voted upon by the league's five head coaches and released Thursday.

Junior Sam Heaps (Landenberg, PA/Avon Grove) was honored as Pitcher of the Year and was a first-team All-Conference selection at both pitcher and utility player. Senior first baseman Jared Auman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy) and junior outfielder Adam Sheibley (Landisburg, PA/West Perry) were also first-team picks, while sophomore shortstop Matt Vinagro (Fredericksburg, VA/Stafford) and sophomore outfielder Rodney Francis (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) were second-team selections.

Together, they led the Blue Jays to a 26-12 overall record and first place in the Commonwealth Conference with a 10-2 mark. Elizabethtown advanced to the conference championship game for the third straight year before falling to Messiah College in the finals.

Heaps, a second-team selection at pitcher last season, finished 6-1 in 10 starts and ranked third in the Commonwealth Conference with a 2.57 earned run average. In 66 2/3 innings of work, he struck out a league-best 60 batters and walked just 17.

At the plate, he batted .405 to rank fourth in the conference in hitting, with two home runs and 37 runs batted in. Heaps, who played first base when not on the mound, scored 42 runs and tied for second on the team with 23 walks.

Auman, the conference Co-Player of the Year last season, was a first-team choice at catcher last season. He hit .420 to rank second in the conference in batting average, and added a league-best 18 doubles to go with two home runs and 37 runs batted in. He also led the team with 20 multi-hit games and had a 16-game hitting streak during the season.

Sheibley, a second-team selection and the conference Rookie of the Year in 2006, batted .373 with a team-high five home runs and 32 runs batted in out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. He scored a team-high 48 runs and led the Commonwealth Conference with 28 stolen bases, the second-highest single season total in program history.

Vinagro started all 38 games at shortstop and hit .302 with 18 runs batted in and 35 runs scored. He finished second in the conference in assists with 125 and had 12 multi-hit games.

Francis hit .366 with two home runs and a team-high 39 runs batted in while starting all 38 games in center field. He finished second in the conference and on the team in stolen bases with 21, and also led the team in triples (4) and walks (29) while adding five outfield assists.

Craig Mease of Messiah was named Player of the Year, while Tom DeAngelis of Widener was voted Rookie of the Year and Albright's Jeff Feiler took Coach of the Year honors.