May 9, 2007

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University's three senior baseball players, who led the Warriors to their first postseason berth in 22 years, have each been named to the All-PSAC East team.

Second baseman Jacob De Boer (Wind Gap, Pa./Pen Argyl) and right fielder Josh Butler (Denver, Pa./Garden Spot) are members of the first team, while left fielder Kirk Mueller (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) is on the second team.

De Boer and Butler were both named to the first team in 2006 as well. This marks the third straight year that De Boer has been honored on the All-PSAC East squad, following a second team selection as a sophomore in 2005.

De Boer was ESU's leading hitter as a senior with a .379 average. He set the Warriors' career record with 224 hits and ranks second with 152 runs scored, and led ESU in both categories this year with 64 hits and 51 runs. De Boer started all 184 games that he played in at ESU, either at second base or shortstop. He committed only one error while handling 95 chances this season in PSAC contests.

Butler followed a monster junior season with another productive year as a senior. He hit .353 with a team-high 50 runs batted in and had seven doubles, two triples and four home runs. In the Warriors' 20 conference games, he hit .396 with three homers and 19 RBI.

Mueller hit .335 for ESU this year and tied for the team lead with five home runs. He also added 11 doubles and had a team-high 82 total bases on the season. The highlight of Mueller's final season at ESU was a two-out, two-strike hit that drove in the winning run in the eighth inning against West Chester and sent the Warriors to the PSAC Tournament.

ESU's appearance in the conference tourney was highlighted by a 9-5 win over No. 1 Kutztown in the Warriors' second round game. Butler had a two-run triple and a two-run single in that contest, while De Boer was 2-for-5 and scored three times.