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MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Jon Barchus, a member of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team, was recently selected to the NAIA All-American Second Team for his performance during the 2003 season.

After serving as the Cougars' closer and racking up a school-record tying 12 saves over his first two seasons, Barchus, a right-handed pitcher from Crestline, Ohio, moved into the starting rotation this year for MVNU. The former Mansfield Christian High School standout did not miss a beat as he posted a 9-0 record on the mound with a 2.41 earned run average. In 52 1/3 innings of work, he struck out an amazing 73 batters and issued just 14 walks. Opposing batters hit just .204 against him.

During the course of the season, Barchus had several outstanding performances. He tossed one-hit shutouts against Thomas (Maine) College and Walsh University. He also broke the school record by notching his 13th career save in a victory at Saint Vincent (Pa.) College.

For his efforts, Barchus received numerous accolades throughout the season. He was the American Mideast Conference and NAIA Region IX Pitcher of the Week three different times and the National Christian College Athletic Association and NAIA Pitcher of the Week once. He was named the AMC North Division and NAIA Region IX Pitcher of the Year after leading the AMC in winning percentage (9-0, 1.000 winning percentage) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.56), and ranking third in ERA. In addition, he was the NCCAA East Region Pitcher of the Year and an NCCAA First Team All-American.

MVNU finished the 2003 season with a 27-19 overall record and won the AMC North Division title with a 13-7 mark. The Cougars also finished as the NAIA Region IX Tournament runner-up for the fourth straight year.