May 16, 2005

Chicago, Ill. - The Horizon League announced on Monday afternoon, that University of Illinois at Chicago senior outfielder Shane Crowder (Sisters, Ore./Sisters/Mount Hood CC) and sophomore hurler Ryan Zink (Madison, Wis./LaFollette) have been named the Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week for the period ending, May 15th.

Crowder celebrated his move to the leadoff spot, batting .500 (9-for-18) with three homers, six runs scored and five RBI, as the Flames moved into sole possession of first place in the Horizon League with a four-game sweep of Youngstown State. Crowder reached base safely in 14 out of 23 plate appearances (9 hits, 4 walks, 1 hit-by-pitch).

His most impressive performance came in Sunday's 12-4 victory over the Penguins in the nightcap of their doubleheader, going 4-for-5 with two solo homers and three runs scored.

For the season, Crowder is batting .327 with five homers and 29 RBI. In conference play, Crowder is batting .389 with four homers and 13 RBI.

Zink played a key role in UIC's four-game sweep of Youngstown State, going 1-0 with one save and an ERA of 2.00.

The Madison, Wis., native earned his third, complete-game of the season in a 14-3 win over the Penguins in Game One of their doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Zink allowed three runs (2 earned) and eight hits, while striking out six batters.

For the season, Zink is 6-5 with an ERA of 4.01 and two saves with 68 strikeouts in 98.2 innings pitched. In conference action, Zink is 4-1 with one save and an ERA of 4.38, with 24 K's in 39 innings of work.

UIC will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon, as they will host Toledo for a non-conference showdown, beginning at 3:05 p.m. at Les Miller Field.