Bucknell University Athletics
Three Bison Earn Spots on the Academic All-District II Baseball Team
5/8/2008 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior co-captains Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School), Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.) and Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) have been named to the ESPN The Magazine 2008 Academic All-District II University Division Baseball First Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday. The honors were the first career all-district citations for Wilson and Angelo and the second for Buursma, as the trio will move on to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
This marks the third consecutive year that Bucknell has placed players on the Academic All-District squad and is the highest total since four members of the Orange and Blue garnered recognition in 2004.
Buursma, who was selected to the Academic All-District team as a designated hitter for a second straight year, 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. 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 68.1 innings 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.
Earlier today, Buursma was named the Patriot League Player of the Year after picking up his fifth career All-Patriot League honor. He earned a spot on the all-league first team as an outfielder and 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. Buursma was also recognized among his peers at Bucknell, winning 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.
Buursma was taken in 43rd Round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners, but chose to return to Bucknell and complete his college career. He boasts a 3.64 grade-point average as an economics major with a philosophy minor and has been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll twice and to the Dean's List in six of seven semesters. During the fall of his junior year, Buursma spent the semester studying abroad at Oxford.
Wilson, one of two pitchers on the Academic All-District squad, was named to the All-Patriot League second team for the first time in his career this season. Despite missing nearly a month due to injury, Wilson returned to the mound in time to help the Orange and Blue to a postseason berth by going 3-0 in three starts against Patriot League foes with a 2.14 ERA, 22 strikeouts and just six walks in 21 innings of work. Overall, Wilson owns a 4-1 record in six starts for a total of 39.1 innings and has recorded 46 strikeouts and only 10 walks, averaging 10.53 strikeouts per game. He was recognized as the Patriot League and ECAC Pitcher of the Week for fanning a career-high 11 batters in a complete-game shutout against Holy Cross on Apr. 13. The shutout was the fourth of his career to tie the Bucknell record.
At the start of the 2008 season, Wilson was named to preseason watch lists for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award and the Roger Clemens Award and was one of 30 initial candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. As a double major in Economics and Philosophy, Wilson holds a 3.49 cumulative GPA and is a two-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
Angelo captured one of four infield spots on the Academic All-District team and, like Wilson, was honored as a member of the All-Patriot League second team for his performance this spring. The first baseman posted a .335 average during the regular season with a team-best 55 hits. The lone member of the Orange and Blue to play in all 45 of the squad's games thus far, starting 44, Angelo totaled six doubles, one triple, two home runs, scored 26 and drove in 32, registering career highs in every offensive category.
A 2007 member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and a Dean's List student, Angelo carries a 3.38 GPA as a management major with a minor in mathematics.
The following is a complete listing of the 2008 Academic All-District II University Division Baseball Team:
Position, Name, School
Pitcher, Mathew Wilson, Bucknell
Pitcher, Jon Dupski, Towson
Catcher, Derek Mechling, Duquesne
Infield, Steve Gable, Penn
Infield, Mark Angelo, Bucknell
Infield, Kyle Higgins, Monmouth
Infield, Dennis Alexander, Saint Peter's
Outfield, Brian Ernst, Penn State
Outfield, Brian Conley, Towson
Outfield, Matt Maher, Fairleigh Dickinson
Designated Hitter, Jason Buursma, Bucknell
