Thursday, July 01, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (July 1, 2004) -- East Tennessee State junior catcher Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.) led all Division I players in batting average and doubles in 2004 as the NCAA released final statistics on Thursday. Moore hit .455 this past season while slugging 31 doubles (.60 per game). Brian Bixler of Eastern Michigan finished second with a .453 batting average while Stephen Carter of Eastern Kentucky was third at .448. East Carolina's Ryan Norwood averaged .53 doubles per game while Utah's Matt Ciaramella finished third with .48 doubles per contest. Moore put together one of the best seasons in ETSU history in 2004, shattering the school batting average record, previously held by outfielder Steve Meredith who batted .419 in 1988. He also broke the ETSU and Southern Conference doubles records. In addition, Caleb led the Bucs this season with 59 runs scored, a .752 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage. Moore was also second on the Bucs with nine home runs and third on the squad with 45 RBIs. He ended the season on a 21-game hitting streak. Caleb also served as the Buccaneer closer this season, posting a 2-0 record with six saves and a 3.60 ERA. Moore was dominant in his final 11 appearances of the season, yielding just a 1.35 ERA. Following the season, Moore was named Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches and media. Caleb was also recently named as a Louisville Slugger All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Moore and South Carolina's Landon Powell were second-team selections while Cal State-Fullerton's Kurt Suzuki was the first-team catcher.