Spartans Named All-Region

AURORA, Ill. May 27, 2005 - The Aurora University Spartan men’s baseball team dominated the 2005 NCAA Division III All-Central Region team, placing seven members on the three teams.

AU’s lone First-Team All-Central Region recipient was senior outfielder Jay Lavender (Oswego, Ill./Oswego HS). Lavender, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division III Central Region Hitter of the Year, Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC) Player of the Year, First-Team All-NIIC pick, and AU Male Athlete of the Year, batted .424 with 52 runs scored, 18 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 62 runs batted in, a .733 slugging percentage, a .490 on-base percentage, and 10 stolen bases. He led the Spartans to back-to-back NIIC tournament championships and their first NIIC regular-season title since the 2002 season. Lavender was a Second-Team All-Central Region player as a sophomore.

Second-Team All-Central Region honors went to five Spartans, senior first baseman Brian Chelgren (Munster, Ind./Thornwood HS), senior third baseman Brian Brandenburg (Batavia, Ill./Batavia HS), junior pitcher Alex Chapple (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley HS), junior shortstop Aaron Thor (Rockford, Ill./Guilford HS), and sophomore outfielder Jay Zimmerman (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central HS). Chelgren hit .378 with eight home runs, 12 doubles, one triple, 49 runs batted in, and 42 runs scored on the year. Chelgren was First-Team All-NIIC, Central Regional All-Tournament, and, as a sophomore, was a Second-Team All-Central Region pick as a designated hitter. Brandenburg, First-Team All-NIIC, hit .387 with nine home runs, nine doubles, 50 runs scored, and 44 runs batted in. Chapple, led the Spartans on the mound with a 8-1 record and a 3.27 earned run average. In 66 innings pitched, he struck out 49 and had one complete game. Thor, Honorable Mention All-NIIC, hit .364 with four home runs, 21 doubles, two triples, 52 runs batted in, and 52 runs scored and Zimmerman, First-Team All-NIIC, hit .373 with seven home runs, nine doubles, one triple, 51 runs scored, 36 runs batted in, and 37 base on balls.

Junior outfielder John Hopkins (Lockport, Ill./Lockport HS) was named Third-Team All-Central Region selection. The Second-Team All-Central Region pick as a sophomore and First-Team All-NIIC in 2005, Hopkins hit .373 with one home run, one triple, 15 doubles, 63 runs scored, 22 runs batted in, and 13 stolen bases.

AU’s baseball team finished with a 34-9 overall record and 14-4 in the NIIC, while capturing the regular-season conference championship, their second consecutive Conference Tournament Championship, and the NIIC bid into the 2005 NCAA baseball tournament. The NCAA appearance was AU’s 16th in school history (since 1987) and the NIIC title was the 19th in the last 22 seasons.

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