Spartan Baseball Players Named All-Region
5/28/2009 3:57:54 PM
The Aurora University Spartan men’s baseball team had three players represented on the 2009 NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region team. AU had one Second-Team All-Central Region honoree in junior pitcher Steve Salazar (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard West H.S.) and two Third-Team honorees in senior catcher Ray Kosmicki (Schaumburg, IL/Schaumburg H.S.) and junior outfielder Tony Wellner (Minooka, IL/Minooka H.S.). Salazar put together a strong season on the mound for Spartans, in which he was selected as the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Pitcher of the Year. He led the NAC in earned run average with a 2.12 mark and also led the NAC in batters struck out with 77. Overall, Salazar finished the season with a 5-4 record in 10 appearances with five complete games and three shutouts, including a no-hitter against Benedictine University on April 15, 2009. Wellner put together another strong season, finishing with a .411 average, 11 home runs, 23 doubles (tying his own single season record), a team high 55 runs scored and 43 runs batted in. He had a .756 slugging percentage and .474 on-base percentage. He was a NAC First-Team All-Conference selection and a 2008 NCAA Central Region Second-Team honoree. Kosmicki hit .394 with 31 runs scored, 33 runs batted in, 10 doubles, five home runs and 10 stolen bases. He had a .635 slugging percentage and .504 on-base percentage. He was a NAC Honorable Mention All-Conference selection. The Aurora University baseball team finished the 2009 season with a 29-13 record -END-