June 3, 2008

GREELEY, Colo. - In a vote by the head baseball coaches and sports information directors of Division I Independent baseball teams, Northern Colorado senior Chad Murray and junior Kevin Sandberg were named to the 2008 All-Independent First Team.

Murray was named the First-Team first baseman after hitting .370 for the year to lead the Bears. He had 71 hits to lead the squad and was second with 19 doubles and five home runs. The senior from Littleton, Colorado also notched 53 RBI on the year and had a slugging percentage of .557. This is Murray's first honor.

Sandberg (Aurora, Colorado) earned First-Team honors as the designated hitter/utility player. He hit .332 on the year, leading the club with 22 doubles and 11 home runs. His 22 doubles ties for third all-time at Northern Colorado and he now has 44 for his career, which is tied for second on the career charts. He also paced the team with 58 RBI and had a slugging percentage of .600, playing in 52 of the team's 54 contests. This is Sandberg's second honor as he was also an honorable mention selection in 2006.

Northern Colorado ended its season 21-33 and co-tournament champions at the National Independent Tournament after posting a 3-1 record.

FIRST TEAM

Position	Name	School	Year	Hometown	Statistics
First Base	Chad Murray	Northern Colorado	Senior	Littleton, Colorado	.370, 5 HR, 19 2B, 53 RBI, 0-1 SB
Second Base	Ryan Goins	Dallas Baptist	Sophomore	Round Rock, Texas	.357, 10 HR, 14 2B, 44 RBI, 6-8 SB
Third Base	Trevor Head	Dallas Baptist	Junior	Colleyville, Texas	.329, 16 HR, 16 2B, 55 RBI, 2-3 SB
Shortstop	Matt Nandin	Le Moyne	Junior	North Syracuse, New York	.341, 13 2B, 34 RBI, 11-16 SB
Outfield	Scott Croshaw	Utah Valley	Senior	Redmond, Washington	.351, 3 HR, 14 2B, 41 RBI, 6-11 SB
Outfield	Chris Edmondson	Le Moyne	Sophomore	Johnson City, New York	.367, 14 HR, 22 2B, 64 RBI, 3-7 SB
Outfield	Roly Gonzalez	Texas-Pan American	Senior	Miami, Florida	.332, 9 2B, 29 RBI. 46-55 SB
Catcher	Phil St. Amant	Le Moyne	Senior	Brockport, New York	.343, 7 HR, 18 2B, 40 RBI, 2-3 SB
DH/Utility	Kevin Sandberg	Northern Colorado	Junior	Aurora, Colorado	.332, 11 HR, 22 2B, 58 RBI
Starting Pitcher	Eric Beaulac	Le Moyne	Junior	Troy, New York	9-2, 2.83 ERA, 92.1 IP, 113K
Starting Pitcher	Marcus Moore	Utah Valley	Senior	Roy, Utah	10-5, 2.86 ERA, 113.1 IP, 97K
Relief Pitcher	Tyson Bagley	Dallas Baptist	Senior	Bakersfield, California	4-2, 11 saves, 2.56 ERA, 38.2 IP, 56K

SECOND TEAM

Position	Name	School	Year	Hometown	Statistics
First Base	Corey O'Neill	Le Moyne	Senior	Pittsford, New York	.330, 11 HR, 15 2B, 48 RBI, 3-4 SB
Second Base	Michael Higa	Hawaii Hilo	Senior	Waipahu, Hawaii	.407, 2 HR, 9 2B, 22 RBI, 8-13 SB
Third Base	Effrey Valdez	NYIT	R-Freshman	Flushing, New York	.332, 10 HR, 8 2B, 44 RBI, 5-6 SB
Shortstop	Brandon Javis	Savannah State	Junior	Columbia, South Carolina	.326, 5 HR, 14 2B, 31 RBI, 5-9 SB
Outfield	Evan Bigley	Dallas Baptist	Junior	Lancaster, Texas	.333. 13 HR, 20 2B, 58 RBI, 13-16 SB
Outfield	Nick Santos	Dallas Baptist	Senior	Grand Prairie, Texas	.390, 6 HR, 14 2B, 38 RBI, 1-4 SB
Outfield	Kyle Wilkerson	Savannah State	Sophomore	Martinez, Georgia	.341, 7 HR, 16 2B, 31 RBI, 11-15 SB
Catcher	Jordan Rutenbar	Texas-Pan American	Junior	Waxahachie, Texas	.335, 5 HR, 11 2B, 42 RBI. 2-4 SB
DH/Utility	Justin Morreim	Longwood	Freshman