May 22, 2007

PADUCAH, Ky. - (Tuesday, May 22, 2007) Five Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball players were honored Tuesday evening at the annual Ohio Valley Conference Awards Banquet held at the Luther Carson Performing Arts Center in Paducah, Ky. Freshman catcher Jim Klocke earned the OVC Freshman of the Year award, senior Asif Shah was named First Team All-OVC as a utility player and junior Dustin Renfrow was named Second Team All-OVC as a starting pitcher. Meanwhile, Klocke, Nick Harris and Josh Syberg were named to the All-Freshman squad. The awards were handed out on the eve of the 2007 O'Reilly OVC Baseball Tournament to be held at Brooks Stadium in Paducah.

Klocke started all 53 games during the season, including 51 times behind the plate for Southeast Missouri (including all 26 OVC games), as a true freshman after previously not having played the position in high school. The St. Louis, Mo. native hit .314 with 53 hits, 36 runs, 10 doubles, three home runs and 36 RBI. He walked 33 times on the season (one behind the league leader) and his .438 on-base percentage ranked eighth in the OVC. He struck out only 12 times in 169 at-bats and behind the plate threw out 30 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him. The 2007 season marks the eighth year the Freshman of the Year award has been handed out. Klocke is the first Southeast player to earn an individual award since Justin Christian, Rookie of the Year, and Tim Alvarez, Pitcher of the Year, were honored in 2003.

Shah, who has been a weekend starter on the mound for Southeast, in addition to playing in the outfield and serving in the designated hitter role, was the only Redhawk to earn first team honors. Shah is one of just three players in the OVC to be named to the Revised Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Watch List. He is also the only player in OVC history to earn OVC Pitcher of the Week and Player of the Week honors in the same season; he earned the pitching honor twice this season. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native posted a 2.85 ERA this season, which is fourth in the league, and leads the Redhawks pitching staff with seven wins. The southpaw is one of just seven pitchers in the nation to have recorded three or more shutouts on the hill, and his three shutouts is just one shy of the single-season record at Southeast. He also leads the staff with six complete games and 72 strikeouts, and his .238 opponent's batting average ranks fourth in the OVC. Meanwhile, he has been the leading run producer for the Redhawks at the plate with 49 RBIs, which are tied for fourth most in the conference. The senior is batting .305 with 10 doubles and five home runs, including one of an NCAA record-tying three grand slams on March 28 versus Freed-Hardeman.

Renfrow, the game-one starter during weekend conference series for the Redhawks, has earned OVC Pitcher of the Week honors on three occasions this season. His 2.33 ERA ranks second in the OVC and 37th in the nation. The right-hander was ranked as high as 12th nationally on April 15 when his earned run average was 1.47. Only once this season has he given up more than three earned runs in a start. With a 4-1 record, the native of West Plains, Mo., has pitched two shutouts and three complete games this season, and he leads the Redhawks with 89.0 innings pitched. Meanwhile, he was issued just 19 walks, tied for third fewest in the conference. Renfrow has not issue more than three walks in any start this year.

Harris has started every game at third base for Southeast this season. The Alabaster, Ala., product is batting .292 with a team-leading 12 doubles and four triples; his eight home runs, 52 runs scored and 10 stolen bases are both tied for most on the squad. His 216 at bats this season are tied for ninth most in a single season. Harris has also driven in 37 RBIs and is slugging .495 during his freshman campaign.

Syberg has been the Sunday starter for the Redhawks this season, and he leads the pitching staff with 14 games started on the mound. The left-handed pitcher from St. Louis, Mo., is 4-3 with a 4.44 ERA. In 73.0 innings pitched this season he has struck out 66 batters, second most on the team. In a start against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 18, Syberg struck out a season-high 14 batters, just three punches shy of tying the school record of 17 set by John Holdner in 1961.

Third-seeded Southeast will open play in the 2007 O'Reilly OVC Baseball Tournament Wednesday evening against No. 6 Murray State. First pitch from Brooks Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.