RICHMOND, Ky. -- Four Eastern Kentucky University baseball players received first team All Ohio Valley Conference recognition for the 1998 season, while one Colonel received honorable mention all conference notice.

Chosen first team All OVC were junior rightfielder Sean Murray, sophomore designated hitter Matt Mason, sophomore shortstop Jason Sharp and junior catcher Joe Smith, while junior righthanded pitcher Eric Bess was an honorable mention All OVC pick.

Murray, a native of Placerville, CA, led the Colonels in hitting with his .402 batting average, while tieing for the team lead in home runs with 16 and finishing second on the team in runs batted in with 48. He also led the team in runs scored with 64, in slugging percentage (.699) and was second in doubles with 16.

Mason, who hails from Ft. Thomas, batted .378 with 16 home runs and a team leading 60 RBI's. He also collected 15 doubles, scored 54 runs and had a .699 slugging percentage.

A native of Owenton, Sharp was third on the team in batting average with his .347 mark. He also had seven HR's, 35 RBI's, eight out of 10 stolen bases and a .539 slugging percentage while scoring 38 runs.

Smith, who played his high school baseball at Anderson County High School in Lawrenceburg, hit .272 with six home runs and 31 RBI's. He also threw out 20 of 48 would be base stealers this year while starting 48 of Eastern's 54 games behind the plate.

Bess, a native of Brooksville, KY, had a stellar season on the mound for the Colonels, going 9-4, including 8-1 against conference opponents, with a 6.27 ERA. He led the staff in starts (15), innings pitched (89.0) and strikeouts (60).

Murray, sophomore second baseman Adam Basil and sophomore lefthander Corey Eagle recently were also chosen to the 1998 All OVC Tournament Team. Murray was 8-17 with three home runs and eight RBI's in the tourney, while Basil was 8-16 with two homers and 4 RBI's. Eagle pitched a nine-inning, complete game 15-3 victory over Eastern Illinois.

Eastern finished the year with a 24-29-1 overall record and tied for fifth place in the final OVC standings with a 12-12 league mark. The Colonels finished third in the '98 OVC Tournament with wins over Murray State and Eastern Illinois and losses to eventual tourney champ Southeast Missouri and EIU.

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