May 23, 2006

By Nathan Saverino, Redhawks Sports Information

PADUCAH, Ky. - (Tuesday, May 23, 2006) - Levi Olson and Omar Padilla were both named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team on Tuesday evening at the annual OVC Baseball Banquet. This is the first time the Redhawks have had two first team selections since 2003, when three players were named to the squad.

Olson completed his senior season at Southeast Missouri with a bang. He is second in the OVC with 17 doubles this season and is second on the squad with a .329 batting average. Meanwhile, the catcher out of San Luis Obispo, California leads the team with 28 runs batted in and he has knocked two home runs. Behind the plate, he has thrown out 10 of the 21 base runners attempting to steal on him.

At one point this season, his batting average skyrocketed from .233 on March 29 to .410 after April 15. Over the course of those 13 games, Olson hit .521 with two home runs, eight doubles while not striking out one time. The hot-streak culminated on April 15 against Samford with a five-hit performance. The catcher recorded five base knocks, including a double and a home run, while scoring three times and driving in one.

In the infield, Omar Padilla is one of only two Redhawks to play in a team-leading 51 games this season. A junior college transfer from Santa Rosa Community College, the junior has enjoyed tremendous success in his first year as a Redhawk. Padilla leads the team with a .337 average, 62 hits, and 21 multi-hit games. Meanwhile, he is tied for the team lead with nine stolen bases, and is second in runs (36) and doubles (16). The junior out of Treyes, California has also hit four homers, driven in 25 and has been hit by a team-leading 14 pitches.

The key to Padilla's success at the plate is his discipline. The second baseman has been one of the toughest batters in the OVC to strikeout, with only 15 K's in 184 at bats. Averaging just one strikeout per 12.27 at bats, Padilla currently owns a 10-game hitting streak, during which he has not gone down on strikes. The streak is the longest on the team this season, recording seven multiple-hit games in that span. The 10-game flash began with a 4-5 game in a win over Eastern Kentucky that included a double, homer, three runs, and two RBIs.

Padilla will try to keep his hitting streak alive during the 2006 O'Reilly OVC Baseball Tournament. Olson, Padilla, and the Redhawks will square off with the Panthers of Eastern Illinois at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky. The game can be heard live on 1220 KGIR on the radio, or at www.kgir.com on the Internet.