June 17, 2009

ATHENS, Ohio-The awards continue to pile up for Ohio Baseball this week as Ohio’s Marc Krauss and Gauntlett Eldemire have been named to the 2009 ABCA/Rawlings Mideast Region First Team. Krauss was also named a First Team All-American by the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association).

It was the third such honor for the 2009 Arizona Diamondback draftee (64th overall), who was given the same recognition by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Baseball America. The Deshler, Ohio native has signed with the parent club and will report to the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Class A Midwest League.

Last week, Krauss became the 39th player to be drafted since head coach Joe Carbone took over the program in 1989.

Earlier this week, Krauss and teammate Hayden Johnston (Strattanville, Pa.) were also voted onto the 2009 Mid-American Conference All-Academic Team. Both had been previously named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District IV Baseball Team. Johnston was later named Second Team Academic All-America by the organization.

Johnston, a 2009 Second-Team All-MAC selection, has been named to the Dean’s List both quarters so far this school year, including a 3.83 GPA last quarter (winter), and was a MAC male Scholar Athlete of the Week on Mar. 26. He led the MAC and broke Ohio’s single-season hits record with 92, including a team-best 29 multi-hit games, while batting .393 and slugging .701 (both fifth in the MAC). He belted 13 home runs and four triples, while his 25 doubles tied for the league lead and third in MAC single-season history. Johnston totaled 164 bases, second-best in the MAC, while scoring 61 runs and driving in 47, as he started all 53 games in 2009.

Eldemire has also been selected to tryout for the USA Baseball Team at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Players will participate in daily practices and drills at the trials, as well as in modified intrasquad Blue vs. Red games. The final 22-man roster will be announced on June 24.

The sophomore from Shaker Heights, Ohio hit .313 in 49 games this season, with 21 homers and 56 RBIs on his way to First Team All-MAC honors. He also had a team-high 11 stolen bases and a .991 fielding percentage (one error in 117 chances). He was named MAC East Player of the Week on Mar. 23.

Once the official roster has been announced, the National Team will stay in Durham and Cary, N.C. as it competes in two international friendship series against Canada and Guatemala from June 25-29 and July 1-4, respectively.

Team USA will then travel to Japan to participate in the 37th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championships before traveling to Prince George, British Columbia, Canada for the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge.