FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
S-69-00-01  
Wednesday, May 9, 2001

ETOWN'S DUPPSTADT NAMED COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL PLAYER OF WEEK

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College freshman Brad Duppstadt (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley High School) has been named the Commonwealth Conference baseball Player of the Week for the week ending May 6.

Duppstadt, a freshman center fielder from Cumberland Valley High School, served as the Blue Jays' offensive spark plug in their drive to the Commonwealth Conference Championship last week. In Wednesday's opening-round, 9-0 road win against Juniata, he batted three for four with one run scored and one RBI. He also singled to lead off two innings, including Etown's three-run fifth inning effort.

In Friday's 3-2 victory over Messiah, Duppstadt hit two for three with one RBI and one walk. In Saturday's 6-4 win over Messiah to capture the championship, he hit one for three with one RBI, a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly. He also batted 0-3 with two walks in Tuesday's non-conference 5-4 loss to Ursinus.

For the week, Duppstadt hit five for thirteen with one run, three RBI, one steal, three walks and one sacrifice fly for a .384 batting average and .500 on base percentage.

In addition, he was named the Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year yesterday after hitting .283 through 35 games. He is currently second on the team in RBI with 22, and he leads Etown with eight stolen bases. His 34 base hits place him fourth on the team.

The Elizabethtown College baseball team is currently 18-17 overall, and the Blue Jays won their second consecutive Commonwealth Conference championship and clinched their second consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 6-4 win over Messiah Saturday in the conference tournament.

The NCAA regionals will begin Wednesday, May 16 and run through Sunday, May 20. Brackets will be announced Monday, May 14.