(Posted March 12, 2007)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata College junior baseball pitcher Brian Markovich (Northern Cambria/Northern Cambria) has been selected as the Commonwealth Conference Pitcher of the Week for his play during the team\'s spring break trip to Arizona. It is the first time in his career that Markovich has been recognized by the conference. This was the first week the conference named Players of the Week for the spring sports season. Markovich played a pivotal role in helping lead Juniata earn the championship of the Arizona Desert Classic. Working primarily out of the bullpen the junior appeared in seven of the team\'s nine games during its spring trip and posted a team-best 2.57 ERA. He did not allow an earned run in six of his seven appearances, including tossing 5 1-3 innings of scoreless relief in Juniata\'s win over Wheaton College in the last game of the week. Markovich earned the win in the Wheaton game, giving him a 1-0 record. He tossed 14 innings and allowed just 12 hits while striking out 10 batters. His five strikeouts in the Wheaton game mark a new career high. He led Juniata in wins, ERA, batting average against and was second in strikeouts for the week. With the strong showing in Arizona, Markovich is off to the best start of his career. Eleven games into the season, he is already just two appearances shy of establishing a new career best, and his win in relief against Wheaton is the first of his career. His strong start has lowered his career ERA to 6.13 after entering the year with a mark of 6.65. His 12 strikeouts this season actually ties his career total entering the year, and he\'s also already posted a single-season best for innings pitched. Markovich\'s strong early-season efforts have helped Juniata to a record of 7-4 through its first 11 games. The Eagles went 7-2 on their trip to Arizona, to earn the championship of the Arizona Desert Classic. The Eagles are off to the strong start despite replacing 10 seniors who helped the team establish a new program record with 30 victories last year. Juniata will begin conference play on Thursday with a nine-inning game at Commonwealth Conference rival Susquehanna University. ###

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