Mahler and Rose Named Co-Captains for 2007 Season
10/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan head baseball coach Rich Maloney announced that seniors Leif Mahler (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) and Eric Rose (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield) have been named co-captains for the 2007 season.
This is the earliest that Maloney, in his fifth season, has announced the captains, who are selected by their teammates, and it marks just the first time since 1999 that the Wolverines have had two captains. Brandon Roberts served as the captain in 2004, but U-M had three captains in 2003 and four each in 2005 and 2006 under Maloney.
Mahler, who took over the starting shortstop position during his freshman season, enters 2007 having played in 159 games with 140 career starts after hitting .325 for the 2006 Big Ten champion Wolverines. Mahler has collected 11 hits (11-for-26) while hitting .423 in six NCAA regional tournament games the past two years.
A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Mahler is known for his slick fielding as he earned the Ted Sizemore Award as U-M's top fielder in 2004 and had a career-best 101 putouts while leading the Wolverines in assists with 143 in 2006.
Centerfielder Rose earned All-Big Ten first team and Big Ten All-Tournament honors as a junior as the Wolverines captured both the regular-season and postseason conference titles and played in the NCAA Atlanta Regional for the second straight year. Rose earned the Bill Freehan Award as Michigan's top offensive player in 2006 as he hit .329 with 44 RBI and had a team-leading 32 stolen bases.
Rose led the Wolverines in fielding in 2006 as he played errorless baseball with 144 putouts and two assists. He has played in 148 games as a Wolverine with 145 starts, and his 32 stolen bases in 2006 marked the second best season total at Michigan. Rose ranks third on U-M's career stolen base list with 56.
The Wolverines open the 2007 season in Florida, playing three games against Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 23-25) in the New York Mets spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Hepner Named Michigan's Volunteer Baseball Coach
Maloney also announced the addition of Aaron Hepner to his coaching staff earlier this fall. Hepner fills the volunteer coaching position for the Wolverines.
"Aaron is a highly motivated individual and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to get him," said Maloney. "He continues the excellent tradition we have had with volunteer coaches at Michigan since I have been here."
A native of Woodinville, Wash., Hepner played football and baseball at Woodinville High School, graduating from in 2001. He graduated from Dayton with a degree in sports management in 2006 as he served as a student assistant coach last spring.
Noted for his defense, Hepner made more than 150 starts at catcher while earning three varsity letters at Dayton (2003-05) and he helped lead the Flyers to a school-record 36 wins as a senior in 2005.
Hepner, who twice led the Atlantic 10 in pickoffs, started his college career playing first base and catcher at Edmonds Community College in the state of Washington. He transferred to Dayton after his team captured the NWACC championship during his freshman campaign.
After finishing his final year of eligibility at Dayton he played in the Frontier League for the Richmond Roosters in 2005. He was an assistant coach for the Southern Ohio Copperheads in the Great Lakes Collegiate Summer League this past summer (2006).
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
