Bucknell University Athletics
JASON BUURSMA '08
6/17/2008 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
One of the top two-way players in Bison history, Jason Buursma was taken in the 25th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher with the 755th overall pick and began his professional career with the Batavia Muckdogs of the short season single-A New York-Penn League.
Buursma posted a 1-3 record with a 2.35 ERA with Batavia in 2008 and was called up to the class A Quad Cities River Bandits in May of 2009. He quickly moved to the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League after posting a 0.77 ERA in nine appearances with Quad Cities.
Buursma enjoyed his finest season of his Bucknell career as a senior in 2008. On the mound, he broke the program wins record with a 9-3 mark and posted a 2.58 earned-run average in 83.2 innings. He totaled just 10 walks and 78 strikeouts, while opposing hitters batted only .226 against him. He also hit a team-best .367 with 58 hits, 37 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 37 RBI and a slugging percentage of .671.
Buursma set a new Patriot League record for career ERA, finishing with a 2.13 in 181.2 innings of work. His senior season, he broke the school record for home runs against Lehigh on Apr. 27 when he hit his 22nd of his career. After four years with the Orange and Blue, Buursma etched his name into the program's single season top-10 lists 14 times and appears on 17 of Bucknell's career top-10 lists. In the League's record book, Buursma graduated ranking in the top-10 for five single season categories and three career categories.
In addition to being the only five-time All-Patriot League selection in school history, Buursma was tabbed an All-American by three different organizations in 2008, was named a First Team Academic All-American, the NCBWA District I Player of the Year, the Patriot League Player of the Year and the Patriot League Tournament MVP.
