May 9, 2002

ASALON EARNS GLVC HONOR

Norse mentor named GLVC Coach of the Year

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University’s Todd Asalon has been named Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year in baseball. Asalon led NKU to its first GLVC regular-season championship since 1989 this year, and the Norse are the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament. NKU is 31-22 going into the GLVC Tournament, and the Norse have won 13 of their last 16 games. NKU is also ranked No. 25 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. NKU senior Lenny Bays was named GLVC Pitcher of the Year by the league coaches. Bays, a graduate of Bellevue High School, is 8-2 overall with a 2.18 earned run average. He is also unbeaten (8-0) against GLVC opponents this season. Four other NKU players - pitcher Josh Whaley, first baseman Steve Walton, catcher Jason Martin and outfielder Justin Rahschulte - were named first team All-GLVC. Third baseman Pat Eschan was tabbed second team All-GLVC. Whaley, a senior from Kokomo, Ind., is 7-5 with a 4.80 ERA. Walton, from Rising Sun, Ind., is batting .349 with eight home runs and 63 runs batted in. Martin, a graduate of Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, is batting .339 with seven home runs and 43 RBI. Rahschulte, a graduate of Boone County High School, leads NKU in hitting with a .366 batting average. He also has 15 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs this season. Eschan, a graduate of Conner High School, is batting .358 with a team-leading 10 home runs. He also has tied an NKU single-season record with 20 doubles this year. 2002 ALL-GREAT LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE BASEBALL TEAM   First Base Steve Walton- Northern Kentucky- 1st Team Rhett Dwyer- Lewis University- 2nd Team   Second Base Chris Maynard- Lewis University- 1st Team Steve Polio- Bellarmine- 2nd Team   Third Base Brian Fritzler- Lewis University- 1st Team Pat Eschan- Northern Kentucky- 2nd Team   Shortstop Chad Opel- SIU-Edwardsville- 1st Team Jeremy O'Neill- Indianapolis- 2nd Team   Utility Scott Mertes- St. Joseph's College- 1st Team Wes Pickering- SIU-Edwardsville- 2nd Team   Outfield Tarron Acuff- Indianapolis- 1st Team Garet Dinges- Quincy University- 1st Team Matt Guarnieri- Indianapolis- 1st Team Justin Rahschulte- Northern Kentucky- 1st Team Mike Eagen- St. Joseph's College- 2nd Team Mike Godfrey- Lewis University- 2nd Team Steve Owen- Southern Indiana- 2nd Team Jim Reiter- Missouri-St. Louis- 2nd Team   Designated Hitter Scott Schweitzer- Kentucky Wesleyan- 1st Team Brandon Hardy- St. Joseph's College- 2nd Team   Catcher Jason Martin- Northern Kentucky- 1st Team Kyle Scott- Bellarmine- 2nd Team   Starting Pitcher Lenny Bays- Northern Kentucky- 1st Team Rick Hummel- Indianapolis- 1st Team Josh Whaley- Northern Kentucky- 1st Team Blake Wyatt- Indianapolis- 1st Team Steve Arnold- Southern Indiana- 2nd Team Andy Augsburger- St. Joseph's College- 2nd Team Adam Gautreau- Kentucky Wesleyan- 2nd Team Keith Nawrocki- St. Joseph's College- 2nd Team Scott Schweitzer- Kentucky Wesleyan- 2nd Team   Relief Pitcher Keith Wallace- Missouri-St. Louis- 1st Team Tim Breuning- Quincy University- 2nd Team Eric Meyer- SIU-Edwardsville- 2nd Team   Player of the Year Chad Opel- SIU-Edwardsville   Pitcher of the Year Lenny Bays- Northern Kentucky   Freshmen of the Year Steve Polio- Bellarmine Jerad Rettberg- SIU-Edwardsville   Coach of the Year Todd Asalon- Northern Kentucky