June 12, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. - Three members of the Arizona State University baseball team have been named to the Baseball America All-America Team, it was announced today. Junior right-handed pitcher Mike Leake and junior outfielder Jason Kipnis were both First Team selections, while junior left-handed pitcher Josh Spence was named to the Third Team.
Leake (Fallbrook, Calif.) earned All-American honors from Baseball America for the second straight season, as he was a Second Team selection in 2008. He is 16-1 with a 1.36 ERA and 150 strikeouts this season, becoming the first back-to-back winner of the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year while also being named the Academic All-American of the Year.
Kipnis (Northbrook, Ill.) leads the team with a .385 batting average, 85 hits, 48 walks and 26 stolen bases, and he ranks second with 16 home runs and 71 RBI. He was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, and it was the second straight season he received All-American honors from Baseball America, after being a Third Team selection last year.
Leake and Kipnis were both consensus First Team All-Americans this season, as they also received First Team honors from Collegiate Baseball, Rivals.com and the NCBWA.
Spence (Victoria, Australia) is 9-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 109 strikeouts on the season. He threw a complete game to lead the Sun Devils to a victory over Clemson in Game Two of the Tempe Super Regional on June 7, sending ASU to the College World Series.
The Sun Devils begin play in the 2009 College World Series on Sunday, facing North Carolina at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Arizona with ESPN televising the game.