Monday, July 7, 1997
UNION WELL REPRESENTED IN NAIA NATIONAL STATISTICS
Jackson, TN--When the NAIA national baseball and softball statistics were released last week, Â鶹ÊÓƵ University was well represented in several categories. In baseball the Bulldogs had three individuals recognized in various categories. At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Â鶹ÊÓƵ pitcher Genus Miller led the nation in strikeouts with 115. This number also established a new school record at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Miller also ranked as the No. 9 pitcher in the nation in individual earned run average with a 2.18 ERA. TranSouth Player of the Year, Michael Hopper, ranked No. 6 in the nation in individual earned run average with a 2.02 ERA. Â鶹ÊÓƵ record-setter Kevin Overcash proved his skill on the base path. Overcash, who set new Bulldog records for stolen bases in a season, consecutive stolen bases, and singles in a season, was ranked No. 11 in the nation in stolen base percentage. Overcash stole 58 bases out of 60 attempts for a .933 percentage. Only one other individual in the nation had more stolen bases with 63.
In the softball statistics, it was no surprise to find several Â鶹ÊÓƵ players ranked after the great season the Lady Bulldogs posted. Pitcher Lynde Capogreco led the nation in strikeouts per seven innings. Capogreco averaged 9.78 strikeouts and complied a total of 250 strikeouts on the season. Capogreco was ranked No. 2 in individual earned run average with a .70 ERA. Emma Hernandez also represented the Lady Bulldogs in national statistics. Hernandez was ranked No. 11 in the hits per game category with an average of 1.620 hits. She also placed at No. 22 in individual batting average, ending the 1997 season with an average of .476. In the team categories the Lady Bulldogs ranked No. 1 in team fielding percentage with a .972 percentage and No. 10 in team earned run average.
The success of these two programs at Â鶹ÊÓƵ University depended upon the outstanding performances on the field that these players consistently gave during the 1997 season.