Date: Thursday, May 11, 2000

EIGHT SPRING ATHLETES NAMED NESCAC ALL-STARS

MEDFORD -- Eight members of four Tufts University spring sports teams have been selected to the 2000 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) First and Second All-Star teams. The announcements were made following a vote by the coaches in each sport.

Senior BASEBALL captain Zack Brown (Melrose, MA/Melrose) was selected First Team All-NESCAC as both a pitcher and second baseman. The team's ace, Brown leads the Jumbos in earned run average at 1.52 and in wins with a 6-2 record. Over 65 innings Brown did not give up a home run and allowed only 11 earned runs and five walks while striking out 37. At second base he had a .936 fielding percentage with just five errors. Whether in the line-up as a second baseman, designated hitter, or hitting for himself as a pitcher, Brown leads the team with a .396 batting average.

Junior C Joe Surprenant (Tewksbury, MA/Tewksbury), freshman 3B Brian Shapiro (Swampscott, MA/Phillips Exeter Academy), and junior LF Todd Boutwell (Woburn, MA/Woburn) were selected to the Second Team for baseball. Surprenant has thrown out an amazing 67-percent of would-be base stealers (22 of 33) and is hitting .333 batting average and 18 RBIs. Shapiro leads the team with five home runs and 38 RBIs, which is one shy of the single-season record at Tufts. Boutwell is an offensive catalyst batting second with his .388 average, team-highs with 35 runs scored and 26 walks and 23 RBIs, Head coach John Casey's Jumbos are the co-host and second seed in this weekend's ECAC New England Playoffs.

In SOFTBALL, freshman C Lis Drake (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford) was selected to the First Team All-NESCAC and also voted NESCAC Rookie of the Year. She is hitting .430 with an outstanding .823 slugging percentage that includes a team record seven home runs this season. Drake has thrown out 13 attempting base-stealers this season and has made just two errors in 157 chances for a team-high .987 fielding percentage.

Junior co-captain Randee McArdle (East Nassau, NY/New Lebanon) was also selected to the First Team in softball as an outfielder. After catching every inning last season, she moved to the outfield this spring and has committed just one error. She has produced in every offensive aspect, hitting .367, driving in 26 runs, hitting five home runs, and leading the Jumbos with 30 runs scored and eight stolen bases.

Sophomore P Jodie Moreau (Clarksburg, MA/Hoosac Valley) has been named to Second Team All-NESCAC. With 103 strikeouts thus far, Moreau broke Tufts single-season strikeout record previously held by Michelle Lima, who recorded 98 strikeouts in 1997. With an 11-6 record including three shutouts, Moreau sports an impressively low 1.77 ERA. Head coach Kris Herman's Jumbos are 22-10 overall and earned their fourth straight berth into the NCAA Tournament. They will play at the NCAA New England Regionals this weekend at Bridgewater State College.

Junior co-captain Colette Gaudet (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) was named to the Second Team All-NESCAC for WOMEN'S LACROSSE. Gaudet excelled on defense to help the team earn its ninth straight post-season berth this spring. With seven games this season where the Jumbos held their opponents to just five goals or fewer, the Tufts defense boasts a 7.62 goals against average. Head coach Carol Rappoli's team beat Western New England, 22-3, in the first round of the ECAC New England Playoffs on Wednesday and will play Connecticut College in the semi-finals on Saturday at Bowdoin.

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