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Four Cougars Earn NAIA All-Region Baseball Honors
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Four members of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team were recently honored when the NAIA Region IX Team was announced.


Justin Clarey	Adam Rowe

Dan Matheney	Jason Irish

Justin Clarey, a senior catcher from Columbus, Ohio, was selected as the NAIA Region IX Player of the Year. The former Hilliard Darby High School star leads MVNU with 46 RBI and is tied for the team lead with seven home runs. Clarey is batting .440 with 13 doubles, three triples, and 21 runs scored. He has also thrown out 22 of the 41 runners who have tried to steal on him.

Adam Rowe, a senior left-handed pitcher from Wooster, Ohio, was named as the NAIA Region IX Pitcher of the Year. The former Wooster High School standout has posted a 9-1 record on the mound with a 3.30 earned run average. In 79 innings of work, Rowe has struck out 85 batters and issued just 25 walks.

Joining Clarey and Rowe on the 17-member NAIA Region IX Team were Dan Matheney and Jason Irish.

Matheney, a senior second baseman from New Concord, Ohio, leads MVNU with a .448 batting average and 81 hits. The former John Glenn High School product has also compiled 10 doubles, one triple, 28 RBI, and 38 runs scored.

Irish, a senior outfielder/pitcher from Cortland, Ohio, is batting .400, leads the team with 15 doubles, and shares the team lead with seven home runs. The former Lakeview High School star has also registered one triple, 42 runs scored, and 45 RBI. On the mound, Irish has posted a 7-2 record with a 3.23 ERA.

The Cougars (38-15), who won the NAIA Region IX Tournament last week in Canton, Ohio, to earn a berth in the NAIA World Series, will return to action on Wednesday when the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament gets under way in Celina, Ohio. MVNU, which is the fourth seed in the 10-team event, will face fifth-seeded Judson (Ill.) College at 1:00 p.m.