2 Hoosiers sign Major League deals

With the Hoosier baseball season ending, two of the team's recent graduates will contniue to take their swings.\nThe latest in a long line of talented Hoosier shortstops, IU senior Seth Bynum signed a contract with Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos franchise May 27, officially beginning his professional baseball career.\nThe Expos selected Bynum in the 38th round of the baseball amateur draft last June. Bynum will spend two weeks in extended spring training before the team decides where to send him.\n"It's a dream come true," Bynum said in a press release. "I'm excited and anxious to get started."\nBynum caught the eye of pro scouts after being ranked in the top 10 among Big Ten players in nearly every offensive category this season, playing his way to earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. The Louisville product led the conference with 65 RBIs while batting .387, second best among all Big Ten sluggers. His 65 RBIs tied for seventh in school history for a season while rounding out an impressive stat sheet with 19 stolen bases, 22 multiple-hit and 21 multiple-RBI games. Bynum started all 109 games he played in over two seasons at IU and in April was recognized by Baseball America as a Midseason All-American.\nIU head coach Bob Morgan said he will miss Bynum's offensive production but couldn't be happier for his first-team All-Big Ten shortstop.\nJoing Bynum in the professional ranks will be right fielder Kevin Mahar, who signed a free agent deal with the Texas Rangers.\n"I'm really excited to have the opportunity to continue to play," Mahar said. "This has been my goal since I started playing baseball, and I am ready to get started."\nMahar was awarded second-team All-Big Ten honors as an outfielder in 2004. He led all Big Ten Conference hitters with 14 home runs and a .652 slugging percentage this season.