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Zach Borenstein
Position: Infielder (3B)
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Buffalo Grove, IL
High School: Buffalo Grove
2010: Borenstein started all 53 games at third base, one of only two Panthers to start every game in 2010… led the team in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, runs scored and stolen bases… became only the fifth player of the program’s Division I era to win the team Triple Crown…batted third in the lineup in 32 of the 53 games and did not bat any lower than fourth… shared the team lead with 19 two-out RBIs… ended the season riding a 12-game hitting streak, the longest of his EIU career… reached base safely in 49 of the 53 games, highlighted by a streak of 29 consecutive games reaching base safely… led the team in multi-hit (21) and multi-RBI games (13)… was 6-for-12 with a home run, four RBIs, four scored and three walks at the OVC Tournament… was 10-for-25 with five extra-base hits and a team-high 10 runs scored during the 10-game homestand… batted .371 with five home runs in April… led the way in May with a .449 batting average and .557 on-base percentage… batted .452 in a team-high 10 RBIs in midweek action… scored 20 times in the 16 home games… hit eight of his 11 home runs away from Coaches Stadium… hit safely in all three games of the South Florida, Morehead State, Jacksonville State and Southeast Missouri series… connected for a pair of three-run homers in consecutive innings at Southern Illinois, posting his first collegiate multi-homer game and finishing the day with a career-high six RBIs… enjoyed a big day in the doubleheader sweep at Murray State, finishing the twinbill 6-for-10 with five RBIs and homering in both games… doubled and homered in a three-hit effort in the series opener at Belmont, connecting for the first long ball of the season by a Panther… knocked in three runs and stole three bases in the middle game of the Belmont series… hit a three-run homer in the spring break trip game against Ohio State… singled, walked and scored twice in EIU’s 10-run fifth inning against Morehead State… hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning of the Illinois game in Mattoon, the first of his three straight games with a long ball… had four hits in wins against Illinois College and Murray State… hit a solo homer in the first inning of the opener of the Southeast Missouri series; SEMO went on to walk him six times in the four games the two teams played… hit a three-run to pull EIU within a run in the OVC Tournament game against Jacksonville State… ranked eighth in runs scored per game in conference play.
2009: Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American… OVC All-Freshman Team… Borenstein played in 40 games and started 36 times, primarily in right field… also started twice at third base and once as the designated hitter… led the OVC in on-base percentage (.506) thanks in part to a team-high 29 walks… one of four regulars that walked more than he struck out… had the best batting average among qualifying OVC freshmen… moved into the leadoff spot in the lineup after the injury to Brett Nommensen and batted .392 with 27 runs scored and a .515 on-base percentage in the 20 games… committed only one error in 63 defensive chances to record an out… hit four of his five home runs in conference play… left-handed hitter held his own against southpaws, batting .375 (12-for-32)… reached base safely 50 percent of the time to begin an inning… batted .452 (19-for-42) with runners in scoring position… registered 10 of his 28 RBIs with two outs in an inning… with a runner on a third and less than two outs, recorded an RBI in 11 of his 13 opportunities… was 11-for-23 (.478) in neutral-site action… batted .444 in the month of March to solidify his spot in the starting lineup… batted .400 in the month of April and led the team in hits (28), runs scored (24) and walks (16)… went 9-for-22 with six runs scored on the spring break trip… batted .442 in midweek action… had .535 on-base percentage with 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored during the 13-game win streak… reached base safely in five of his nine plate appearances at the OVC Tournament… recorded a season-high five RBIs and four runs scored in the rubber game win at UT Martin… hit his first homer at EIU and finished with four RBIs in the blowout win of Tennessee Tech… doubled twice and accounted for four runs in the home-opening win against Illinois State… led the way with a season-high four hits in the neutral-site wood bat game against Missouri… hit the third of EIU’s three homers in the eighth inning of the game one win at Southeast Missouri… collected three hits, including an RBI double, in the OVC Tournament loss to Jacksonville State… Top 100 National Rankings: 20th in on-base percentage and 87th in batting average… Top 10 OVC Rankings: first in on-base percentage, fifth in walks and ninth in batting average.
HIGH SCHOOL: Borenstein was a two-year letter-winner for coach John Wendell… Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times All-State honoree as a senior… two-time all-area, all-conference and Midwest players of the year… established new career school records with a .498 batting average and .970 slugging percentage… also ranks among the top three in school history in home runs, doubles, hits, runs, RBIs and stolen bases… led the area in batting average (.524), doubles and runs scored his senior year… was tops in the area in hits as a junior… senior year team captain… helped led BGHS to its first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight round of the IHSA State Tournament in 2007… reached the Sweet Sixteen round a year later.
PERSONAL: No. 1 sports highlight was beating Lake Forest High School to reach the state finals of the IHSA playoffs his junior year… his father has been a major influence on his sports career because "he is the absolute man"… most admires New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter because "his has four World Series rings and the hottest girlfriends ever"… son of David and Nancy Borenstein… MAJOR: Kinesiology and Sports Studies.
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