FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Bradley rising senior outfielder Mike Tauchman will put his hot bat up against the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team tonight when his Coastal Plain League Fayetteville SwampDogs host Team USA in an exhibition game at J.P. Riddle Stadium.

An honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference pick for the Braves this spring, Tauchman leads the SwampDogs with a .328 average and he is tied for fourth in the CPL with 11 stolen bases.  Tauchman missed the season's first six games as he recuperated from some nagging injuries from the college season, and the SwampDogs started slow without him by going 2-4 in those six games.  Since Tauchman joined the lineup 18 games ago, Fayetteville (16-8) is 14-4 and has climbed into second place in the East Division standings, just one-half game behind the Edenton Steamers (16-7).

Team USA will begin a 4-game swing through the CPL tonight at Fayetteville.  The team of collegiate all-stars also will visit the Wilmington Sharks Tuesday and the Morehead City Marlins Wednesday, before closing out the series Sunday at Forest City.  The Collegiate National Team is gearing up for a 5-game series against the Cuban National Team July 5-9 in Havana, followed by the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week international tournament July 14-22 in Haarlem, The Netherlands.

Tauchman is not the only Bradley outfielder swinging a hot bat in the summer collegiate leagues:  Max Murphy is up to his old on-base tricks for the Stark County Terriers in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.  Murphy, who was on base in each of his first 38 games during his freshman season at Bradley in the spring, has been on base in each of the last 10 games for the Terriers.  During the 10-game streak, Murphy is batting .400 (16-40) with six doubles and a home run.  By legging out six doubles in the last six games, Murphy has moved into a tie for second place in the GLSCL with seven doubles and he is tied for fourth with two home runs.

Also in the GLSCL, pitcher David Koll (1-0) earned his first win of the summer by striking out seven in 6.2 innings in his last outing, a 4-2 victory for Licking County against Southern Ohio Wednesday.  Koll and Bradley battery mate, catcher Derek Sprout, will face Murphy Tuesday when Licking County visits Stark County in a 4 p.m. (CT) game at Walsh University.  Licking County then will host another Bradley teammate, Andrew Wasmund, Wednesday night when Settlers welcome the Grand Lakes Mariners.

Curtiss Bunch has been on base in five straight games for the Sedalia Bombers, a streak that started with a 4-for-4 performance in the second game of a Monday doubleheader at the Ozark Generals.  Bunch had three doubles in his streak starter and has raised his season average to .300.

Through Friday's action, Chris Godinez ranks among the Jayhawk League leaders by batting .316 for El Dorado. 

Bradley Baseball 2012 Summer Collegiate League Assignments