May 25, 2004

PADUCAH, Ky. - Samford head baseball coach Tim Parenton was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Coach of the Year when the league announced its postseason awards Tuesday night.

"This is a great honor," Parenton said. "Without my coaches and players putting everything together, this would not be possible. We haven't changed anything since we started in the fall, we just stuck with it throughout the year."

Parenton guided the Bulldogs to a 15-12 record in the OVC, but the Bulldogs were 15-1 over their final 16 conference games. The team will be competing in the OVC Tournament this week, in its first year in the league, and the team is in a conference tournament for the first time since 2002.

Samford had two players on the All-Conference teams. Sophomore right fielder Matt Alling was named to the first team, while sophomore pitcher Stephen Artz was named to the league's second team.

For the season, Alling leads the team in batting (.376 avg.), RBI (45), hits (71) and triples (6). Artz has been one of the team's top pitchers, posting a 5-5 record and a 3.87 ERA. He currently leads the team in strikeouts with 95 and innings pitched with 90.2.

Samford will open the OVC Tournament on Wednesday, May 26, against top-seeded Austin Peay at 7:00 p.m. The game, along with all of Samford's games in the OVC Tournament, can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samfordsports.com.