FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 8, 2008
CONTACT: Jeff Duggan, SID
PHONE: (303) 273-3095

CSM baseball lands seven All-RMAC selections;
Walker named First Team All-RMAC, Oates named Co-Coach of the Year

GOLDEN, Colo. - Seven student-athletes from Colorado School of Mines have been named to the 2008 All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference baseball teams, as announced today by the RMAC. Furthermore, CSM's Jerrid Oates has been selected as the 2008 RMAC Baseball Co-Coach of the Year.

Nick Walker, a 5'8", 170-lb. senior outfielder from Denver, Colo. (Wheat Ridge H.S.), was the Orediggers' lone First Team All-RMAC selection. Walker led CSM in batting average (.404) and stolen bases (14) during the regular season while driving in 38 and reaching base at a .465 clip. Walker also established a new CSM individual single-season record for hits in 2008. Walker was a Second Team All-RMAC pick as a freshman in 2005.

Earning Second Team All-RMAC accolades for CSM were Caleb Rudkin and Marshall Schuler. Rudkin, a 5'11", 180-lb. senior second baseman who hails from Fort Collins, Colo. (Fort Collins H.S.), hit .362 with 14 doubles, five HR, 45 RBI and a team-best .537 slugging % during the regular season. A three-time Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection, Rudkin earned First Team Academic All-RMAC recognition during his junior and senior years. Schuler, a 5'11", 160-lb. sophomore right-handed relief pitcher from Anaheim, Calif. (Katella H.S.), led the RMAC in saves (tied - seven) and was third in the conference in appearances (23) during the regular season.

Craig Matsuda, Jerrad Wallace, Cory Ast and Andrew Ryan all earned Honorable Mention All-RMAC recognition. Matsuda, a 5'5", 145-lb. sophomore outfielder from Denver, Colo. (Northglenn H.S.), hit a team-second-best .376 during the 2008 regular season while amassing a .462 on-base %. A 6'0", 175-lb. redshirt freshman catcher / DH from Greeley, Colo. (Northridge H.S.), Wallace hit .346 and with 23 RBI. Ast, a 6'0", 175-lb. sophomore left-handed starting pitcher from Westminster, Colo. (Northglenn H.S.), led CSM in ERA (6.44) and strikeouts (61) in 13 starts during the regular season. Ryan, a 6'3", 170-lb. sophomore right-handed starting pitcher from Longmont, Colo. (Silver Creek H.S.), compiled a 6-5 record - including a 6-2 mark over his final nine regular-season starts - and finished with a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (30 / 15).

In his first season as the head coach at Mines, Oates guided the Orediggers to a 19-32 regular-season record (17-22 RMAC) and their first appearance in the RMAC Tournament since 1999. Oates, who spent four years (2004-07) as an assistant coach at Mines, also led the 2008 Orediggers to their first post-season victory since the 1994 season.

For more information, please contact CSM Sports Information Director Jeff Duggan at jduggan@mines.edu.

-- OREDIGGERS --