May 20, 2003

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Mike Loprieno (Bloomingdale, Ill./ Driscoll Catholic H.S.) has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Lewis University.

Loprieno earned four varsity letters as Driscoll's catcher. He has started for the traditional Class A power for the past three seasons. With several weeks left in the high school season, he is batting .455 and has 31 RBI for his senior year.

"Mike is an outstanding defensive catcher," said Lewis head coach Irish O'Reilly. "He is a very competitive person and will be a frontrunner for our starting catcher's position next season."

Loprieno was named all-conference as a junior, while helping lead the team to an IHSA sectional championship. As a sophomore, he helped Driscoll to conference and sectional championships and a second-place finish in the IHSA Class A state tournament.

A solid student, Loprieno is an Illinois State Scholar and a member of the "A" honor roll.

Lewis University is an NCAA Division II institution located in Romeoville, Ill. The Flyers are a traditional power in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and in the nation. Lewis joined the GLVC and the NCAA in 1981 and has won six GLVC titles and made 12 trips to the NCAA tournament since then. The Flyers won NAIA national championships in 1974, '75, and '76, while finishing as high as third in the nation three times since 1988.