Date: May 7, 2003
Contact: Brian Laubscher (540) 458-8676
Release: Upon Receipt

W&L BASEBALL HAS EIGHT PLAYERS EARN ALL-ODAC
Michael Hanson Is Player Of The Year; Jeff Stickley Is Coach Of The Year

2003 ODAC Player of the Year Michael Hanson

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Senior shortstop Michael Hanson (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy), named the 2003 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year, was one of eight Washington and Lee baseball players named to the all-conference team which was announced on Wednesday afternoon. Head Coach Jeff Stickley was also selected as the ODAC Coach of the Year.

Joining Hanson on the first team were a pair of fellow seniors, first baseman Brian Gladysz (Palm Harbor, Fla./Berkeley Prep) and centerfielder Bobby Littlehale (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook), as well as junior pitcher Peter Dean (Vienna, Va./James Madison), junior rightfielder Bryan Mulhern (Chadds Ford, Pa./Unionville) and sophomore catcher Zach Bausch (Vienna, Va./McLean). Junior second baseman Austin Allain (Weston, Mass./Weston) and junior righthander Dan Kagey (Marietta, Ga./Lovett) were both second team selections.

A four-time All-ODAC selection, Hanson is W&L's first-ever ODAC Player of the Year after hitting .371 with five home runs, 12 doubles, 23 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and a school-record 46 runs. A career .360 hitter, he will graduate as W&L's all-time leader in games played (136), at-bats (519), hits (187), runs (148), doubles (43), triples (13) and stolen bases (51). Dating to Apr. 18, 2001, Hanson has reached base in 74 straight games.

Gladysz earned first team honors after finishing fourth on the team in average (.358), second in RBIs (33) and doubles (12), and drawing a single-season school-record 31 walks. Littlehale, who was flawless in the field (1.000 fielding percentage), hit .362 with 23 RBIs and 27 runs.

A lefthander, Dean went 8-2 with a 1.67 ERA, threw six complete games and two shutouts, and recorded 73 strikeouts while issuing just eight walks. Currently the W&L all-time ERA leader (2.14), his 20 career wins are three shy of the all-time mark. Mulhern had team-highs in batting average (.392), home runs (6), hits (56) and RBIs (48). His hit and RBI totals are single-season W&L records, while his 92 career RBIs are program record. Bausch compiled a .356 average at the plate and hit a team-best 15 doubles in driving in 30 runs.

Allain earned second team honors after hitting .289 with 31 RBIs and 36 runs. Kagey, a righty, went 7-3 on the hill with a 3.05 ERA and 68 strikeouts.

Stickley won his third coach of the year award after leading W&L to a school-record 28 wins (against just eight losses) and second-place finish in the ODAC Tournament. On the way, the Generals won a school-record 15 consecutive games. The Generals will learn if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

-- GENERALS --