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News Nuggets, 06.19.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

ECU's Jones headlines trio of C-USA All-Americans

Three Conference USA players were named to the Baseball America All-American team, the publication announced on Thursday in Omaha, site of the 58th annual College World Series.

East Carolina’s Ryan Jones, Southern Mississippi's Jarrett Hoffpauir and Tulane's Brian Bogusevic were each named as second-team All-America selections.

Jones and Hoffpauir are consensus All-America selections, while Bogusevic is the 10th C-USA player to earn first, second or third-team All-America honors in 2004.

Jones was named the 2004 C-USA Player of the Year after hitting .409 during the regular season. He led the nation in slugging percentage for most of the season, finishing at .823 with 49 of his 86 hits being extra-base hits. He slugged 26 doubles, four triples and 19 home runs and posted a team-high 69 RBI. Jones closed the season batting an even .400.

Hoffpauir had one of the finest seasons ever by a Golden Eagle. The first-team All-C-USA selection had a team-leading .405 batting average, scored 62 runs, had a school-record 109 hits, tied for the team lead with 27 doubles, hit two triples, 11 home runs, a school-record 92 RBIs, a school-record 12 sacrifice flies and was walked 20 times. In the field, he finished with only six errors for the season in 332 fielding chances (.982) and helped turn 52 double plays.

Bogusevic was the top two-way performer in C-USA this season, standing out at the plate and on the mound. He led the team in RBI (68), triples (4) and total bases (132) while ranking second in home runs (10) and slugging percentage (.559) and fourth in hitting (.339). On the mound, Bogusevic paced the Green Wave in innings pitched (111.2) and strikeouts (84), finished tied for the team lead in wins (9). He was third on the Tulane pitching staff in ERA (4.19) and opponent batting average (.289).

C-USA umps on the job in Omaha

Although East Carolina and Tulane fell short in the NCAA Super Regionals last weekend, Conference USA is still well represented at the currently-ongoing 58th annual College World Series in Omaha.

Four of the eight umpires that have been selected to officiate the CWS work in Conference USA, but Ken Gracner, Scott Graham, Gus Rodriguez and David Rogers will be making the calls involving teams from other conferences during the eight-team showdown for the national championship.

Graham and Rodriguez will each be working their third College World Series. Graham, a native of West Chester, Pa., worked in Omaha in 1996 and 2000. He has been a Division I Super Regional umpire for five consecutive seasons.

Rodriguez, who hails from Sunnyvale, Calif., helped call the 1997 and 2001 CWS and has also worked five straight NCAA Super Regionals.

Gracner and Rogers will be making their Omaha debuts this weekend.

Gracner, a resident of St. Louis, has worked NCAA Regionals on a regular basis since 1989 and earned Super Regional assignments in each of the past two years.

Rogers lives in Houston and was the crew chief at the C-USA Tournament in that city last month. He has worked Super Regionals for each of the last three years and regionals since 1999.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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