FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
S-67-00-01  
Tuesday, May 1, 2001

ETOWN'S JARED NESS NAMED COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYER OF WEEK

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College senior Jared Ness (York, PA/McPherson (KS) H.S.) has been named the Commonwealth Conference baseball Player of the Week for the week ending April 29.

Ness had a stellar week for Elizabethtown, batting .462 (six for 13) with a double, a home run, five runs and four RBI over the course of three games last week. His on base percentage for the week was .500 and his slugging percentage was .769.

He began the week by hitting two for five with two RBI and a run scored in Etown's 16-10 drubbing of Delaware Valley Wednesday. In the Blue Jays' first game of a conference doubleheader against Widener Saturday, a 4-3, 11-inning win, Ness hit two for four with a double, a sacrifice, and two runs scored.

Elizabethtown needed to win both of its games against Widener Saturday to be assured of making the conference playoffs, and with the Blue Jays down 6-5 to the Pioneers with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game and no one on base, those assurances looked bleak. Ness then stepped up to the plate and smacked a solo home run, his first homer of the season, to send the game into extra innings. Etown went on to win the game 7-6 in nine innings, and Ness batted two for
four with two runs, two RBI, a walk and a home run.

Ness currently leads the Blue Jays in batting with a .356 average, in hits with 37, and in doubles with eight. He has driven in 17 runs and scored 18 this season, and has a .481 slugging percentage and a .424 on base percentage.

Elizabethtown is currently 15-16 overall and finished the Commonwealth Conference regular season with an 8-6 mark. The team plays its final regular season game Tuesday, May 1 on the road against Ursinus at 3:30 p.m. The Blue Jays kick off the Commonwealth Conference playoffs, a double-elimination tournament, on the road Wednesday, May 2 for a 2:30 p.m. game at Juniata. The tournament will continue Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5 at Owls Field in Ted Palka Park in West Lawn, PA. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic berth in the NCAA regionals.