State College, Pa., July 25, 2000 - The accolades keep coming in for the Penn State baseball team as Nittany Lion baseball head coach Joe Hindelang has been named the Mideast Region Coach of the Year by his peers.

Hindelang led Penn State to the championship at the Upper Montclair Regional last season and its first-ever appearance in the Super Regionals. The Lions finished with a school-record 45 wins and qualified for the 19th NCAA Tournament appearance in the program's history. Penn State also finished the 2000 regular season with the top team batting average in the nation at .358.

In addition, a total of five players for the 2000 squad were either drafted or signed by Major League Baseball teams this summer, including Big Ten Player of the Year Michael Campo.

Hindelang currently ranks second on the Penn State all-time career win list with 280. He is 100 victories from tying former Penn State skipper Joe Bedenk for the most in school-history at 380.

The Nittany Lions' 2000 season concluded with a pair of losses at Texas in the Super Regional.