ST. LOUIS – Bradley senior outfielder Mike Tauchman (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) has been named the 2013 Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, according to a vote of the league's eight head coaches announced Monday afternoon.
Tauchman, who continues to lead the nation in hitting with a .427 batting average, joins pitcher Mike Dunne (1984) as the only Bradley players to claim The Valley's player-of-the-year award since it was introduced in 1980.
Tauchman's .427 season average is the best-ever by a Bradley player with at least 100 at-bats and is the best by any player in The Valley since Wichita State's Pat Magness hit .464 in 1998. In addition to his league-leading batting average, Tauchman has produced more runs than any player in The Valley this year: he is tied for second in the league with 51 runs scored and ranks among the top 10 with 40 RBI's. By subtracting his two home runs, which count toward both totals, Tauchman has produced 89 runs in Bradley's 47 games, four more than Illinois State's Zac Johnson (85) in 54 games.
While his .427 overall batting average is 46 points ahead of the league's No. 2 hitter, Wichita State's Garrett Bayliff (.381), Tauchman's .462 average in 21 MVC games is 73 points better than the No. 2 average by Indiana State's Koby Kaemer (.389). Perhaps even most notable among his offensive accomplishments in 2013, the left-handed swinging Tauchman is batting .583 (28-48) against left-handed pitching and recently enjoyed a 9-for-9 streak against southpaws.
In addition, Tauchman currently ranks second in The Valley with 28 steals, in 29 attempts, and needs two more to equal the single-season school record of 30 steals set by Jim Shadid in 1977. He also ranks among the national leaders with eight outfield assists.
Tauchman is joined on the All-MVC first team by Bradley junior designated hitter Greg Partyka (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett H.S.) and on the MVC All-Defensive team by Braves junior catcher Austin Jarvis (Elgin, Ill./Burlington Central H.S.).
Boasting a .320 average, Partyka is Bradley's second-leading hitter and he ranks third on the team with 33 RBI's. His 16 doubles are tied for third-most in The Valley this season.
A three-year starter behind the plate for the Braves, Jarvis has thrown out 49-of-107 (.458) runners trying to steal against him in his career.
Bradley (17-30, 2-19 MVC) will begin play in the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship by facing host Illinois State (36-18, 16-5 MVC) in the fourth game of Tuesday's opening round, scheduled for a 7:37 p.m. start at Duffy Bass Field. Joined in Bracket B by Evansville and Missouri State, Bradley will play a second tournament game Wednesday at either 12:37 p.m. in an elimination game versus the Evansville/Missouri State loser or 7:37 p.m. in a winner's bracket against the Evansville/Missouri State winner.
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