RICHMOND, Ky. - Several Eastern Kentucky University baseball players were awarded All-Ohio Valley Conference recognition in voting conducted recently of the league's head baseball coaches and sports information directors.

Two Colonels - junior first baseman Lee Chapman and senior rightfielder Sean Murray - were picked to the 1999 first-team All-OVC unit.

Chapman, a native of Nicholasville, led Colonel regulars in hitting with his .373 mark. He also topped Eastern in home runs (20), runs batted in (71), hits (91), runs scored (64) and tied for the team lead in stolen bases (20) and triples (4). He also tied school marks with his home run total for a single season and set a new single season EKU record for most total bases (172), in addition to tieing the school's career triple mark (11).

Murray, who hails from Placerville, CA, and who came to Eastern from Sierra College (CA), hit .355 this season with 13 home runs, 61 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases. Both Murray and Chapman were also picked on the 1999 All-OVC Tournament team.

Receiving second-team All-OVC notice were senior catcher Joe Smith, junior third baseman Jason Sharp, junior designated hitter Adam Basil and junior relief pitcher Mike Martini.

Smith, a native of Lawrenceburg, hit .299 with 11 home runs and 48 runs batted in, while Sharp, a native of Owenton, hit .371 with nine home runs and 35 RBI's.

Basil, a Cincinnati, OH, native, hit .344 with 12 homers and 47 RBI's, while tieing with Murray for the team lead in doubles with 19. Martini, a native of Harrisburg, PA, was 6-1 on the year with five saves and a 4.22 ERA.

Righthanded pitcher Chip Albright of Hudson, OH, received honorable mention All-OVC status. He led the pitching staff in victories (9), innings pitched (98.1), complete games (5) and ERA (4.12). He finished the '99 year with a 9-5 overall record with 64 strikeouts and opponents hit but .256 against him.

Eastern closed the year with a 35-25 overall record and 14-10 mark in conference play, which tied the Colonels for third place in the final OVC standings. EKU finished third in the recently completed OVC Tournament, defeating Murray State (8-5) and Southeast Missouri (13-6) before losing to eventual tourney champ Eastern Illinois (9-4) and Middle Tennessee (4-3).