Baseball's Aubrey, Bormaster Claim National Honors
Mar 25, 2003 | Baseball
March 25, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team got a double-dip of good news on Tuesday as junior first baseman Michael Aubrey was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and junior catcher Brian Bormaster was named to the preliminary Johnny Bench Award watch list as the nation's best catcher.
Aubrey, who was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week on Monday, becomes the second Tulane player to claim NCBWA National Hitter of the Week honors as senior centerfielder Jonny Kaplan earned the distinction on Feb. 11. Bormaster, meanwhile, becomes the first Tulane player ever named to the Bench watch list.
Aubrey - who went 13-for-17 at the plate (.765) with three home runs, two doubles, three stolen bases and 10 RBI - helped lead Tulane to a 4-0 week, including a three-game sweep of C-USA foe Memphis over the weekend. He posted multiple-hit and multiple-RBI games in all four contests last week, including a pair of four-hit outings.
Aubrey opened the week with a 4-for-5 showing against Southeastern Louisiana when he ripped a double and hit a home run in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Lions. He also opened the weekend series against Memphis on a strong note, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in a 9-3 win, and followed that up with a 3-for-4 showing in Saturday's 12-3 victory. Aubrey also went 2-for-4 with two RBI on Sunday.
In addition to the impressive performance at the plate, Aubrey showed good speed with three stolen bases, and played flawless defense with 40 putouts and one assist. For the year, Aubrey is hitting .500 (49-for-98) with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 41 RBI. He also has eight stolen bases, and is currently on a 12-game hitting streak.
Bormaster, who is in his second year with the Green Wave after playing his freshman season at Rice, never played behind the plate at any level before last year. A middle infielder by trade, Bormaster donned the shin guards and chest protector in 2002 and was named the team's "Outstanding Defensive Player". He started 36 games at catcher and helped the Tulane staff post a 24-12 record with a 4.59 ERA while he was behind the plate.
In 2003, Bormaster has started all 25 games - 22 at catcher - and is hitting .297 with three doubles and 11 RBI while leading the team in walks (19) and sacrifice bunts (3). He has made his presence felt even more behind the dish this year, however, as he has worked with seven freshmen pitchers and nine hurlers who were not on the team last year.
The Johnny Bench Award watch list will be narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists, who will be announced May 20. A list of three finalist will be released on June 2 - just prior to the College World Series - and all three finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the Sixth Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet.
Bormaster, Aubrey and the Green Wave return to action on Wednesday, March 26 when they travel to Cajun Country to take on Louisiana-Lafayette at 6:30 p.m. at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field. The game will be broadcast live on the flagship station of Tulane baseball - WRBH 88.3 FM - and simulcast on the internet at www.tulanegreenwave.com.
