Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Buursma Named Patriot League Player of the Year
5/8/2008 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell baseball senior co-captain Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) has been named the 2008 Patriot League Player of the Year, the league office announced on Thursday. Buursma joins Kevin Silverman and Frank Fresconi as the only members of the Orange and Blue to earn the award and becomes the first Bison player to do so since Fresconi was honored in 2000.
For Buursma, the recognition comes after earning a First Team All-Patriot League selection as an outfielder yesterday, which marked the fifth all-league recognition of his career. Buursma is the first player in Bucknell history to collect five all-league accolades and trails only Army's Cole White for the most all-league selections in PL history as White earned his seventh career honor as a first team outfielder this spring.
Buursma finished the regular season as the Patriot League leader with a .400 batting average, 11 home runs and a .725 slugging percentage and currently paces the Bison with 34 RBI to go along with six doubles and 29 runs scored. In league play, Buursma completed his final Patriot League campaign hitting .382 (21-for-55) with three doubles, three home runs, 10 runs scored and 14 RBI.
A two-way standout, Buursma has contributed on the mound this season, as well, as the ace of Bucknell's pitching staff. He is among the league leaders with a 5-3 record along with 65 strikeouts in 68.1innings of work, averaging 8.56 per nine innings. Buursma boasts a 3.38 ERA and has walked just 10 batters, holding opponents to a .253 average.
In addition to his PL Player of the Year award, Buursma has received much national attention in the recent weeks as he was added to the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List, was selected as one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and was named to the Dick Howser Trophy Watch List. He is the only student-athlete in the nation that is up for all three awards.
Buursma was also recognized among his peers at Bucknell as he won the Christy Mathewson Award at Bucknell's annual Senior Athletic Awards Banquet on Apr. 29, presented to the most outstanding athletes in the senior class.
Through three-plus seasons with the Orange and Blue, Buursma has become one of the most decorated players in program history, earning a spot on the ABCA All-East Region First Team as a relief pitcher in 2006 in addition to his five all-league accolades. He was taken in 43rd Round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners as a pitcher and is a two-time member of the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List.
Buursma holds the school's career saves record with 15 and finished 2007 with the second lowest ERA in Patriot League history, 1.65. This season, Buursma broke the school record for home runs on against Lehigh on Apr. 27 when he hit his 22nd of his career and will likely finish his time with the Bison ranking in the top-10 in program history for 15 career pitching and hitting categories, with his name appearing at least 12 times on the single season lists.
Bucknell will be back in action this Saturday, May 10, when the squad will travel to West Point, N.Y., to face No. 1-seed Army in a best-of-three Patriot League semifinal series. Game one is scheduled to begin at noon.
