FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3-11-02

AASU's Mike Roga Earns National, PBC Pitcher Of The Week Honors

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Junior righthanded pitcher Mike Roga earned an impressive trifecta on Monday afternoon as he was named a "Louisville Slugger" National Player of the Week, the Peach Belt Conference's Pitcher of the Week and SLAM! Sports Canadian Player of the Week for the No. 3-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State Pirate baseball squad.

Roga hurled the ninth no-hitter in AASU history, tying a school record and setting a new Peach Belt Conference record with 17 strikeouts in the Pirates' 1-0 win over Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday, March 5. Roga then capped off the week by limiting SIU Edwardsville to two hits and one run in six innings, striking out six in AASU's 11-2 win over the Cougars on Sunday, March 10, giving him a 2-0 record with an 0.60 ERA, with 23 strikeouts and only two hits in 15 innings of work.

Roga is the second AASU player to earn "Louisville Slugger' National Player of the Week honors, following Jeff Agard, who won the award in 1996 for the Pirates during his All-America season. Roga is also the second AASU player to be honored by Toronto Sun columnist Bob Elliott with the Canadian Player of the Week honor, an award given weekly to identify the top Canadian collegiate baseball player in the United States, of which there are 488 players competing in 2002. Roga is the second AASU player to earn Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week honors this season, following Brian Allen, who was the PBC's Pitcher of the Week for February 18.

The AASU baseball squad, 24-3 on the season after Monday's 7-1 win over Concord, next takes the field on Tuesday, March 12 against Bryant (R.I.) at 2:00 p.m. at Pirate Field.

- Pirates -