May 8, 2008

Baseball senior Jacob Willis was named to the CoSIDA District I University Division First Team and classmate Chris Klepps earned recognition on the Second Team according to a release furnished by the organization today. They become the first two Siena student-athletes honored with inclusion on a CoSIDA Academic All-District Team this season.

As a First Team selection, Willis advances to the national ballot.

A senior third baseman from Niantic, Conn., Willis has started all 46 games this season and leads the team with a .364 batting average. He enters this weekend's series with Iona, with 63 hits - just six shy of the school's single season record. Willis is second all-time in career hits at Siena with 237 entering this weekend - 13 hits shy of all-time record holder Ryan Finn. Willis also leads the team with nine home runs and a .590 slugging percentage. He holds a 3.53 GPA in finance.

Klepps, a senior shortstop from Bristol, Conn., has started 44 of 46 games and is third on the team with a .333 batting average. Klepps leads the team with 39 runs scored and his career total of 139 ranks sixth and stands just six shy of second on the school's all-time list. Klepps holds a .302 career batting average and has played in 186 career games - eighth on the all-time list. He will graduate next weekend with a degree in English and currently holds down a 3.72 GPA.

The Siena baseball team has won 13 of 15 games to pull within percentage points of fourth place in the MAAC standings. The top four teams qualify for this year's MAAC Championships, scheduled for May 22-24 in Trenton, N.J. The Saints host Iona at Siena Field this weekend. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at noon.