PALMER, Alaska -- Bradley Baseball players Joe Bircher (Omaha, Neb./Roncalli Catholic H.S.) and Mike Tauchman (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) turned in all-star performances this summer, helping their teams to the top of the Alaska Baseball League standings.
Leading the Mat-Su Miners (31-14) to the league title, Bircher was one of three starting pitchers to earn first-team ABL Postseason All-Star status. The rising Bradley junior went 6-1 with a 1.29 earned run average and allowed only 29 hits in his 49.0 innings pitched.
Playing primarily at first base, Tauchman landed on the ABL Postseason All-Star second team after batting .307 with 20 runs batted in for the runner-up Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks. One of four freshmen to receive ABL All-Star honors, Tauchman started 51 games for the Braves last spring, batting .285 with five home runs and 20 RBI's in his rookie college season.
Elsewhere on the collegiate baseball summer circuit, Bradley pitcher Justin Ziegler (Lenexa, Kan./Olathe Northwest H.S.) turned in an undefeated summer for Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League regular-season champion Licking County (Ohio) Settlers. Ziegler was 6-0 in his 12 regular-season relief appearances with a 0.99 ERA. Boasting pinpoint control, Ziegler struck out 21 against just two walks in 27.1 innings pitched and the opposition has hit just .194 against him with only two extra-base hits (both doubles).
In the Jayhawk League, Bradley outfielder Brian Martin (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Lombard Montini Catholic H.S.) ranked among the top hitters with his .395 average for the Hays Larks. A candidate for the league Player of the Year, Martin stole 16 bases in 18 attempts and scored 31 runs in 38 games. Martin's Bradley teammate, pitcher Jacob Booden (Vernon Hills, Ill./Libertyville H.S.), was 3-3 with a 4.38 ERA in nine mound appearances for the Larks.
