May 23, 2007
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BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton University junior TIM KAY (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) was recently honored as second team All-Mideast Region by the ABCA for his play on the diamond this spring. He is the third Beaver baseball player named to the second team in the past two years. In 2006, senior outfielder RIORDAN MCCLAIN (Upper Sandusky/Upper Sandusky) and sophomore second baseman TONY MOORE (Elida/Elida) were two of the nine Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference players named All-Mideast Region. HCAC Player of the Year SCOTT TARNOWSKI (Manchester) and MITCH KUCZEK(Transylvania), both outfielders, were named first team All-Region. Bluffton pitcher/designated hitter TIM KAY was joined on the second team by outfielder MICHAEL MAYER (Mt. St. Joseph). Third basemen MATT TALARICO (Manchester) and pitchers ANDY CLARK (Franklin), ZACH FIELDS (Transylvania) and CHRIS WAITE (Mt. St. Joseph) all earned third team honors this season. Sixteen players earned ABCA first team recognition and they will now be forwarded for All-American consideration. |
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Junior Tim Kay, who was named first team All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference for the second consecutive year, led the Beavers both on the mound and at the plate. An April in which Kay smoked opposing pitchers at a .500 clip helped Tim to a HCAC best .459 batting average for the season, including hitting .467 in conference games. He finished with 34 hits, 15 runs scored and 17 runs batted in despite playing only 22 games. For the season, Kay had a .649 slugging percentage, second best in the conference behind only Scott Tarnowski. His on-base percentage of .545 was also the best in the conference. On the basepaths, he stole 11 bases in only 12 tries and he drew 12 walks during 2007. |
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On the mound, Kay was just as dominating. He finished the year with a 2.79 earned run average, including a 1.50 ERA during the month of April. Kay struck out 21 batters and issued only 10 free passes while compiling a 2-4 mark in 38.2 innings of work. Opponents hit .247 against Kay who tossed three complete games in his six 2007 starts for the Beavers. For his career, Kay has hit .397 with 79 hits in only 199 at-bats. He currently has a slugging percentage of .548 while his on-base percentage of .462 places him fifth on the all-time list at Bluffton. He has a career earned run average of 4.79 with 11 complete games in his 23 starts as a Beaver. Bluffton ended the season with a 5-19 overall record, including a mark of 4-15 in the HCAC. |