June 8, 2006

Tucson, Ariz. - Almost a week after the end of a magnificent 2006 baseball season for Bethune-Cookman College, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Year and All-MEAC Tournament MVP, José Ortiz-Rivera, has been named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Baseball Team.

Ortiz-Rivera, a 5-9, 160-pounder from Juncos, Puerto Rico, finished the season batting .282 with a league-leading 57 runs scored. He also produced a team fourth-best 58 hits and 20 RBI. He swiped 16 stolen bases with 107 putouts from his centerfield position.

"It is a great honor both for him and the team to have someone of his caliber making the All-America Team," stated B-CC head coach Mervyl Melendez. "We are really proud that he was able to accomplish so much this year, and we are looking for bigger and better things out of him next year as a seasoned player."

Last weekend during the NCAA Tournament (Oxford Regional) in Oxford, Miss., Ortiz-Rivera scored two runs against Tulane, and registered seven putouts and one assist in two games played for the Wildcats. The `Cats fell to eventual Regional champ Ole Miss (3-2) on Friday, and then against Tulane (12-7) on Saturday afternoon before receiving a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd of 7,018 the entire way back to the bus on both days.

He was the only player from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) named to the All-Freshman Team, as well as the only player from a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) to earn the honor.