July 27, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. -
After starting all 53 games for the Illinois State Redbird baseball team behind the plate and pacing the offense with solid numbers during the 2005 season, Jay Molina has been awarded the 2005-06 Duffy Bass Endowed Scholarship. The Moline, Ill. native, who will be a senior in the fall, had a .973 fielding percentage on the season as the every-day catcher for the `Birds and backed up his defense with a .294 batting average, tying for the team lead in doubles and triples.
The Duffy Bass Endowed Scholarship is named after the former Redbird coach, who won 713 games in his coaching career from 1963 to 1988, making him the winningest coach in Illinois State history. The award is presented to a junior or senior baseball player who demonstrates the competitive spirit exemplified by coach Bass during his time at Illinois State as a student-athlete, teacher and coach.
Molina, last year's recipient of the Fairchild Memorial Award, was humbled by the announcement.
"It's an honor for me to be mentioned in the same breath as coach Bass," said Molina. "I've had the pleasure to get to know him the last three years and I'm honored to receive an award in his name. I just hope I can continue to play well in my final year and help the team win."
Redbird head coach Jim Brownlee, who played for Bass' 1969 NCAA College Division National Championship team at ISU, believes his senior catcher was the perfect choice for the award.
"Jay is the type of player that any coach would want in their program," said Brownlee. "He's a hard worker and the leader of this program. We are looking forward to having Jay for one more year and are looking forward to a big year from him next season."
The Duffy Bass Endowed Scholarship is one of 12 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. Though not one of the six fully-funded endowed scholarships at ISU, the Duffy Bass Endowed Scholarship provides significant support for the recipient.
For more information about supporting this, or other Illinois State University endowments for student-athletes, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
