Former D-C standout Long excelling on, off field for ISU

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Dundee-Crown graduate Kenny Long is the career saves leader at Illinois State. | Photo courtesy of ISU Athletic Communications Office

Updated: June 28, 2011 11:56PM

Illinois State University pitcher and Dundee-Crown graduate Kenny Long has watched as a few of his friends have been drafted into professional baseball during the last two seasons.

Given the numbers that he posted for the ISU Redbirds this year, one could ask the question, will the former D-C pitcher be on the radar next year?

Long’s numbers this year speak for themselves. While he filled the closer role for ISU, he posted a 4-1 mark and also had a team-leading six saves. In 39 1/3 innings of work, he allowed four earned runs on 25 hits for a 0.92 earned run average. He fanned 45 hitters and walked only seven. Opposing batters only posted a .177 average against the left-handed reliever. His 15 career saves are an ISU record.

Not only does Long have the numbers, but he also has some pretty good physical tools. The biggest is that he is a lefty, with decent height (6-1).

“I would like to get a little bit bigger, weight-wise,” said Long, who is spending the summer pitching for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod League. “I only weigh about 160 pounds. I would love to eventually weigh about 180. I want to make sure to get stronger and gain the right type of strength that will make me a better pitcher.

“I loved closing for ISU. The end of the game is the most exciting part of the game.”

No matter what is in the future for Long, he will probably be prepared for it. In addition to his success on the diamond, Long, who carries a grade point average of 3.04 while majoring in history, was recently named the winner of the Duffy Bass Endowed Scholarship.

It is one of 23 endowed scholarships awarded to student-athletes. Long can use the funds as he sees fit. The scholarship is named for Duffy Bass, who coached ISU’s baseball team for 25 years from the 1960s until the late 1980s. Bass passed away at the age of 81 in 2008.

“Coach Bass would be very proud to be represented by Kenny,” Illinois State coach Mark Kingston said in a release posted by the university. “Kenny comes to the park every day with a smile on his face and a great desire to win. He is the type of throw-back player that coach Bass would love.”

The Redbirds were 36-18 overall and 13-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.

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Illinois State’s softball team finished its season with a 36-19 overall record. They were 21-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Redbirds junior outfielder Liz Andrews (Jacobs graduate) finished with a .333 batting average.

The 52-game starter made 153 trips to the plate and had 51 hits (six doubles, four triples, eight homers). She also had 30 RBI, 28 runs scored and 16 walks. She finished with a slugging percentage of .582 and on-base percentage of .410. In the field, she had 46 putouts, seven assists and three errors for a .946 fielding percentage.

Fellow ISU player Elizabeth Kay (Bartlett) started all but one game and finished with a .261 batting average. Other than her 42 hits in 161 at-bats, she had 43 RBI, 30 runs scored, 12 walks and one stolen base. She smacked 14 homers and six doubles this year. Kay had a slugging percentage of .559 and an on-base percentage of .335. The sophomore catcher made only two errors while making 286 putouts and 18 assists for a .993 fielding percentage.

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The Edgewood College baseball team finished 12-10 in the Northern Athletics Conference and 18-22 overall this year. Scott Ortega (Bartlett), Ryan O’Dell (St. Charles East), Ryan Walker (Bartlett) and Mike Selvaggi (Bartlett) all suited up for Edgewood this year.

Ortega, who played and started 36 games, finished with a .291 batting average. He had 37 hits (four doubles), a team-leading 29 runs scored, 11 RBI, 10 walks and five stolen bases. In the field, he made 67 putouts, 83 assists and six errors for a .962 fielding percentage.

O’Dell finished with a .287 batting average after having 35 hits in 122 trips to the plate. The freshman infielder doubled seven times and homered twice, both of which were team leading. The 38-game starter drove home 22 runs, scored 13 times and walked eight times. He had 72 assists, 21 putouts and 13 errors for an .877 fielding percentage. He finished with a slugging percentage of .393 and an on-base percentage of .336.

Walker, a junior outfielder/catcher, had a .282 batting average. In his 40 games played, 39 of which were starts, he had 44 hits (five doubles, one triple) in 156 trips to the plate. Walker finished the 2011 campaign with 20 runs scored, 18 RBI, 11 walks and nine stolen bases. He committed only one error, while making 89 putouts and two assists for a .989 fielding percentage. He had a slugging percentage of .327 and an on-base percentage of .325.

Selvaggi, who also played in 40 games and started 39, had 35 hits in 143 at-bats for a .245 batting average. Of his hits, six were doubles, one triple and two were homers. He had 28 RBI, 18 runs scored, six walks and two stolen bases. Selvaggi had a slugging percentage of .343 and an on-base percentage of .301.

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Jacobs grad Lauren Arceneaux led Loyola in runs scored (28), RBI (23), stolen bases (20), doubles (seven) and triples (two). Arceneaux, who hit .293, finished with 46 hits in 157 trips to the plate. She had five homers and 15 walks. Arceneaux committed only 10 errors as she had 100 putouts and 101 assists for a fielding percentage of .953. Loyola finished 26-26 overall and 16-7 in the Horizon League.

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Valparaiso hurler Tyler Deetjen (St. Charles East) worked 103 innings this year. In his time on the hill, he allowed 48 earned runs on 113 hits for a .419 earned run average. The junior lefty, who started 15 games on the hill, fanned 48 and walked 12. He finished 4-7. Valparaiso was 25-32 overall and 14-10 in the Horizon.

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Dayton freshman Tommy Konrad (St. Charles East) was 0-1 this year. The lefty, who worked 18 innings, allowed 10 earned runs on 19 hits for a 5.00 earned run average. He struck out 11 batters and walked 11. Dayton finished 32-27 overall and 15-9 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.