May 23, 2002

CLEVELAND - The Horizon League unveiled its baseball all-conference awards Wednesday night and Cleveland State was well-represented, placing five players on the various teams. Senior RHP Jerry Long (Plymouth, Pa./West Side Tech) garnered Co-Pitcher of the Year honors along with Butler's John Corcoran. Long is the first CSU hurler to earn league Pitcher of the Year accolades. Senior outfielder Ernest Simpson (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) and junior outfielder/LHP Brian Beaumier (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) were named to the second team, while freshman first baseman Dominic Erney (Parma Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) and freshman shortstop Ben Smith (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) were named to the All-Newcomer squad.

Long posted a 0.72 ERA and a 5-0 record in conference play, limiting opponents to just four earned runs in 50 innings pitched. For the season, he led the Horizon League in strikeouts (104), innings pitched (102.2) and opponent batting average (.202) and was fifth in ERA (3.07).

Simpson batted .286 with 31 RBI and a team-high nine home runs, while Beaumier earned a spot as the utility player thanks to his solid play both in the outfield (.265, 5 HR, 30 RBI) and on the mound (4-3, 5.67 ERA).

Erney leads the Vikings in average (.322), doubles (15) and RBI (32), while Smith has played every inning of every game at shortstop, posting a .231 average with three home runs, 15 RBI and a team-high 26 runs scored.

The fifth-seeded Vikings face No. 2 UW-Milwaukee in their first game of the Horizon League Championship on Thursday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. at Jacobs Field.