Date: Thursday, June 1, 2000

BROWN CLOSES BASEBALL CAREER WITH ALL-AMERICAN HONOR

MEDFORD – After producing one of the finest seasons in Tufts baseball history, senior captain Zack Brown (Melrose, MA/Melrose) is now enjoying its rewards. A recent graduate of Tufts, Brown will play in the New England College Baseball All-Star Game for the second straight year on Saturday, June 3, and he was recently named to the American Baseball Coaches Association's All-American Third Team.

Brown was one of the top hitters and pitchers in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). He was selected as the league's First Team All-Star at both pitcher and second base. On the mound he was one of the top aces in the country, finishing with a 7-2 record and a 1.41 earned run average that should be among the nation's Top 10 when final statistics are released later this month. He hit .390, 10^th in NESCAC, and scored 27 runs while driving in 14.

In 70 innings pitched, Brown only walked six batters and allowed 62 hits. He did not allow more than two earned runs in any of his 10 starts and five times he threw complete games. He beat then-fourth-in-the-country Virginia Wesleyan, 5-1, with a four-hitter on March 26. He had NESCAC wins over Bates, Wiliams, Wesleyan and Bowdoin. At bat, Brown had multiple hits in 15 of the 33 games he played and he made just six errors in the field. Tufts finished 26-12, the most wins in team history.

"Zack goes down as one of the best competitors we've had here," said head coach John Casey. "He's not a vocal kid, but the way he plays is respected by everyone. He did it for four years here, so it's great that he's going out with these honors."

The New England College All-Star game pits a team of Division I players versus a team of Division II and III players. It will be played at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn., on Saturday. Brown earned a spot on the team by being named a First Team New England All-Star. Other honors Brown earned this spring include a spot on the ECAC New England First Team and the GTE Northeast Region All-Academic Team. Brown, an economics major, graduated with a grade point average over 3.2.

Junior LF Todd Boutwell (Woburn, MA/Woburn), a New England Second Team All-Star, will play for a team of Division III players versus a team of Junior College stars on Saturday as well.

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