July 18, 2008

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University head coach Dan Callahan announced today that catcher Mark Kelly is the Most Valuable Player for the 2008 Saluki Baseball season.

"If one looks at our overall statistics, I think it's pretty obvious that Mark is our MVP," said Callahan. "He had a great year and is well-deserving of this honor."

A native of Hanover Park, Ill., Kelly earned first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference honors for the second-straight season. He led the Salukis in batting average (.375), runs scored (45), doubles (18), RBI (46), total bases (116), slugging percentage (.518), walks (33) and on-base percentage (.462).

Kelly also ranked sixth among conference leaders in batting average, landed a spot on the league's all-tournament team and was a recipient of the MVC's State Farm Good Neighbor Award.